English clubs have coined it in the Champions League

The authoritative Swiss Ramble has attempted to estimate how much English clubs will make from the Champions League, although he emphasises that making such estimates is not straightforward.

The total amount distributed to clubs in the 2018/19 Champions League has increased by 54% (€681m) from €1.269 bln to €1.950 bln. This is now split: participation €488m (25%), performance €585m (30%), TV pool €292m (15%) and coefficient rankings €585m (30%). In 2018/19 each of the 32 clubs that qualified for the Champions League group stage get €15.25m plus €2.7m for a win and €900k for a draw. Additional prize money for each further stage reached: last 16 €9.5m, quarter-final €10.5m, semi-final €12m, final €15m & winners €19m.

The 2018/19 Champions League prize money has therefore significantly increased over 2017/18, especially in the early stages of the competition. The maximum amount that a club could earn (excluding TV pool & coefficient) is up €25.3m (44%) from €57.2m to €82.5m.

The UEFA coefficient (much beloved by Arsene Wenger) is a new distribution method for 2018/19, based on performances in UEFA tournaments over past 10 years, including bonus points for winners. The €585m pot is divided into shares with each one worth €1.108m, so highest ranked club gets €35.5m, lowest €1.1m.

The new UEFA coefficient distribution method clearly benefits traditional big clubs like Real Madrid, Barcelona and Bayern Munich at the expense of clubs from countries with large TV pools (i.e. England and Italy). However, the overall increase in Champions League prize money, driven by booming TV and commercial deals, means that English clubs will still earn more in 2018/19 than 2017/18, assuming similar progress in the competition.

The Swiss Ramble estimates the English clubs have earned the following revenue to date from the Champions League (previous season in brackets): Liverpool €92m (€81m), Tottenham Hotspur €86m (€61m), Manchester City €93m (€64m) and Manchester United €94m (€40m).

So Manchester United have earned more money to date from the Champions League than any other English club, even though they were knocked-out in the quarter-final. This is partly due to finishing 2nd in last season’s Premier League (high TV pool), but largely because of a strong UEFA coefficient.

Liverpool's Champions League revenue is €92m for reaching the semi-final, up from €81m last season for reaching the final. They have benefited from the hefty increase in prize money, but they also have a fairly high UEFA coefficient (ranked 15th, but 12th best of qualified teams).

Tottenham Hotspur's Champions League earnings have increased from €61m to €86m for reaching the semi-final (i.e. two rounds further than previous season’s last 16), but they are adversely impacted by a relatively low UEFA coefficient (ranked 25th, but 19th best of qualified teams).

Manchester City have earned €93m from the 2018/19 Champions League, compared to €64m in 2017/18, even though they reached the quarter-finals in both seasons, due to prize money increase.

Of course, Liverpool and Spurs could both progress to the final and might even end up winning the Champions League. Based on some scenario analysis, the maximum that Liverpool could earn is €112m, while Spurs maximum is €106m.

The Swiss Ramble concludes, 'The message here is that the English clubs have really coined it in this season’s Champions League, due to a combination of good progress in the competition and the much higher prize money. It has also become clear that it pays to have a good history in Europe, as shown by the case of Manchester United. Clearly, this has implications for those clubs in the Premier League that have not qualified for Europe, as it’s once again a case of “the rich getting richer”, which poses yet more questions about competitive balance in football.'

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The Political Economy of Football V2

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