UEFA Financial Insights: Champions League Prize Money Breakdown

PSG Leads UEFA Prize Money Earnings

Paris Saint-Germain emerged as the top earner in UEFA prize money, securing €144.4 million (approximately $168 million) in the last season. This increase included an additional €400 million (around $466 million) distributed among elite European clubs as part of the new expanded tournament format.

These financial figures were outlined in UEFA’s financial report released on Tuesday, ahead of the annual congress scheduled for next month in Brussels.

Key Highlights

• Shocking Exit for PSG: Paris Saint-Germain faced a surprising defeat in the French Cup against local rivals Paris FC.
• Real Madrid’s Coaching Change: Real Madrid dismissed manager Xabi Alonso after a brief tenure of 233 days.

Financial Performance of Other Clubs

Inter Milan, who finished as runners-up, secured the second spot on the earnings list, bringing in €136.6 million (around $159 million) from the UEFA prize pool. The UEFA fund allocated a total of €2.47 billion (approximately $2.9 billion) among the 36 participating teams, each competing in an initial eight matches within a single-standings league format.

Notably, seven teams received at least €100 million (about $116.5 million) in prize money, compared to just five teams achieving this milestone in the previous season when the overall fund was €2.08 billion (approximately $2.42 billion) under the former 32-team format.

Aston Villa was the only quarterfinalist to earn below €100 million, with a UEFA payout of €83.7 million (approximately $97.5 million). This lower figure was partly attributed to Villa’s rankings as they returned to the competition after a lengthy 41-year absence.

Individual Club Earnings in Detail

Real Madrid’s defeat to Arsenal in the quarterfinals resulted in earnings of under €102 million (about $119 million) from UEFA, a decrease of €37 million (around $43 million) compared to their title-winning run in 2024. They received an additional €5 million for their UEFA Super Cup victory against Atalanta, who earned €4 million from the match.

Inter Milan’s earnings from the Champions League were at least double those of each of the other four participating Italian clubs.

Among English teams, Manchester City was the lowest earner, obtaining €76 million (about $88.5 million) after their elimination in the knockout stage by Real Madrid in February.

Slovan Bratislava received the least payment of all Champions League teams, earning under €22 million (approximately $25.6 million) after losing all eight matches in the league phase.

The disparity in payments between the Champions League and the Europa League was significant, as seen with Tottenham, who took home only €41 million (around $47.8 million) for winning the latter competition.

Furthermore, beaten finalists Manchester United received €36 million (approximately $41.9 million) from UEFA last season but will not receive any funds this year after failing to qualify for any European tournaments.

Chelsea, winning the more modest Conference League, obtained €21.8 million (around $25.4 million) and has since transitioned back into the Champions League.

UEFA Leadership Compensation

UEFA’s financial report also noted that its president, Aleksander Ceferin, did not receive a salary increase last season. His fixed compensation remained at 3,250,000 Swiss francs gross, equal to $4 million, with no bonuses included.

In contrast, UEFA Secretary General Theodore Theodoridis saw an increase in both salary and bonus, totaling 2.05 million Swiss francs ($2.56 million).

This report underscores the evolving financial landscape within European football and reflects the considerable sums at play as clubs navigate the complexities of UEFA competitions.