Why Newcastle get less from the Champions League

Judging from the Newcastle fan interviewed on Radio 5 this morning the Toon Army enjoyed their night at the San Siro and were justifiably satisfied with their 0-0 draw. The financial rewards may not be as great.

Why will the Champions League not benefit Newcastle United as much as their rivals? The Geordies have basically been hammered for the crime of not playing in Europe for ages, so it does not really matter how good (or bad) the current team is, which means that Ashley’s legacy still lingers on.

Normally, the English clubs in the Champions League receive around four times as much as those playing in the Europe League, but Newcastle are the “Inbetweeners” this season. Their €30m revenue is stuck in the middle of the €60m average for the other three Champions League clubs and the €16m average for the Europa League.

Newcastle will receive a much lower TV pool than the other English clubs. Before a ball is kicked, their share will be €9.8m, which is only around half as much as Manchester City’s €18.3m.

To them that hath shall be given

The real damage to their earnings comes with the UEFA coefficient, where their €4.5m pales into insignificance compared to the other three English clubs: Manchester City €33.0m, Manchester United €28.4m and Arsenal €25.0m.

The UEFA coefficient payment was introduced in 2018/19, based on a team’s performance in UEFA tournaments over the past 10 years, including bonus points for winning tournaments.

This clearly benefits the established elite like Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Barcelona, who all pick up well over €30m, having been rewarded in some cases by good performances many years ago.

Newcastle’s earnings are currently €30m, which is less than half of Manchester City’s €67m, and also miles below Manchester United €57m and Arsenal €56m.

That said, Newcastle will still do better financially than England’s representatives in the Europa League, where the current earnings are even lower: Liverpool €20m, Brighton €18m and West Ham €11m.

Aston Villa’s return to European competition is not going to generate a huge sum either, as they are currently on just €10m (participation €2.9m, UEFA coefficient €0.8m and TV pool €6.5m.

Results matter

Of course, all of the analysis to date has ignored prize money, so Newcastle could redress the balance by doing the business on the pitch. In the group stage, each win is worth €2.8m, while a draw earns €930k. There is more prize money for each additional stage reached: last 16 €9.6m, quarter-final €10.6m, semi-final €12.5m, final €15.5m and winners €20.0m. Therefore, the difference between winning and losing the final is €4.5m.

Newcastle will see good growth in their other revenue streams. Gate receipts will increase thanks to a packed St. James’ Park eagerly lapping up the prospect of elite European games, while the prospects for commercial deals and sponsorships will also be enhanced.

Clearly, Newcastle United will benefit financially from qualifying for the Champions League, which will help the club meet its FFP targets among other things. That’s good news, but the prize will not be as much as it might have been, given the way that the UEFA coefficient effectively punishes “newbies”.

It's no deal say Spurs insiders over Taiwanese takeover

Senior figures at Tottenham Hotspur insisted on Friday that they had not been informed of any deal to sell Daniel Levy’s stake in the club. A business group, Eight Sports Capital — which is said to include a billionaire Taiwanese financier — claimed that it had an agreement in place to buy a 24.99 per cent stake in ENIC, the club’s majority owners, from Levy, who owns 29.88 per cent. The Times has been told Ng Wing Fai and Brooklyn Earick form part of the group, having both been linked previously to potential takeovers of the Premier League club. The Taiwanese businessman, Richard Tsai, is also said to be part of the consortium. He is reportedly worth £7 billion. Last year Earick, the former DJ and tech entrepreneur, was part of an attempted £4.5 billion takeover, which was “unequivocally rejected” by Spurs. An ENIC spokesperson said: “We can confirm that neither ENIC nor THFC are aware of any sale by Daniel Levy’s Family Trust of its minority stake in ENIC, THFC’...

Spurs CEO attacks luxury training base

The Tottenham Hotspur chief executive Vinai Venkatesham has issued a withering assessment of the way the club was run under Daniel Levy, likening the state-of-the-art training centre to a five-star hotel rather than a centre of high performance. Venkatesham was appointed to his role in April 2025, having stepped down as chief executive at Arsenal the previous summer. However, he has said that some aspects of the club were “in a significantly worse state” than he expected. “Our training centre is amazing, one of the best, if not the best in the world,” Venkatesham told BBC Sport. “But when you look around, it looks more like a five-star hotel than it does a performance environment. That will change over the summer. I think there are many areas where the club hasn’t got the right level of expertise.” He explained that the football side of operations was the club’s main downfall when he arrived last year. [One Spurs fan wryly observed that it was like a water company sayi...

Fulham requires big funding from owner

After lengthy delays, Fulham’s shiny, new Riverside Stand has finally opened, creating “a unique Thameside destination with first class facilities for supporters and partners on match days, as well as for the wider community year-round”. This ambitious project has increased Craven Cottage’s capacity by around 4,000 to 29,600, while it has also taken advantage of the club’s fantastic location and wealthy catchment area by including two Michelin star restaurants, a rooftop swimming pool, corporate hospitality and event space, all benefiting from views of the Thames. Chief executive Alistair Mackintosh observed, “Fulham is the sort of club that can have a business class or first class and have fans that turn left on a plane.” Indeed, there is also an exclusive members club – with a football season ticket as an optional extra. It’s fair to say that “the times they are a-changing”, as this is a long way from the traditional pie and a pint. However, in a world where clubs face the tw...

The Political Economy of Football V2

Search This Blog