UEFA has announced increase in the Champions League prize money fund for the next three year cycle 2015-18 and the increase is pretty significant with 50% increase in the “Participation Bonus” which is guaranteed for all 32 teams. Currently every team who qualify for the group stages of champions league gets €8.6 million but with the new increase it will jump to €12 million for each and every 32 teams.
Champions League 2015-16 Prize Money Increase:
There is also 50% increase in winning bonus on every group game win which jumped from €1 million to €1.5 million, while incentive for reaching first knockout stage will get all 16 teams a massive €5.5 million compared to €3.5m currently.
There is also increase on Quaterfinal, semifinal and final prize money. So a team winning Champions League in 2016 can pocket around €55 million just in prize money plus of course the “market pool money” (which is explained below) So if a English team were to win Champions League in 2016 they can pocket in the region of €100 million from prize money and market pool only.
Current Champions League 2015-16 Prize Money & Market Pool Distribution:
UEFA Champions League is by far the most highest prize money paying competition in the world, yeah thats right even more than Football World Cup. Champions League’s total prize money pool is around €1.257 billion for the 2015-16 season from which UEFA pays all the 32 participating clubs and the ones who get knockout in the champions league qualifying rounds. The winner of competition can take away anywhere around €50 to €55 million (performance based) plus there is massive increase “Market Pool” from UEFA Tv income. Which is distributed according to proportional value of each TV market
UEFA Champions League 2015-16 Prize Money Fund Distribution:
So how does the distribution of €1.257 billion works among Champions League participant and teams who play in Champions League qualifiers but fail to reach group stages. The total prize money pool (€1.257 billion) is divided into two portions.
- A). Fixed Amount (€724.4 million) awarded according to how the teams finished and performance related bonuses.
- B). Market Pool (€482.9 million). Part of UEFA’s TV income which is distributed according to which league the team comes from and number of matches played by a team.
| STAGE | Total Fixed Amount: €724.4 million |
| Playoff Bonus | €50 million distributed to 20 teams who participated in playoffs. €2m each for playoff winners and €3 million each for eliminated teams. |
| Participation Bonus | €12 million (Guaranteed) for each 32 teams who play in the group stages |
| Performance Bonus | €1.5 million for every win & €500,000 for every draw in group stages |
| Round of 16 | €5.5 million each for 16 teams |
| Quarter Finals | €6 million each for 8 teams |
| Semifinals | €7 million each for 4 teams |
| Runner Ups | €10.5 million |
| Final | €15 million |
| Potential Total | Winner of 2015-16 champions league can earn between €50m to €54.5m from “Fixed Amount” pot. Plus Market pool money which can easily elevate total earnings of winners from England, Spain, Germay or Italy around €100 million (prize money + market pool) |
Market Pool (€482.9 million) Distribution:
UEFA has announced €482.9 million in market pool money for each of the next three champions league seasons. Which will be distributed according proportional value of each TV market (Country/League). So the market pool awarded to each country’s league will be distributed among the teams from that league according to their performance in previous league season and how many matches they will play in the given champions league season.
English clubs will benefit the most with the new Market Pool distribution system and If an english club were to win the champions league in 2015-16 season they will earn around €100 million (around €50m from performance based + around €50m with market pool).
you see if FC Basel were to win the Champions League they won’t make as much as Real Madrid or Barcelona did in the last couple of years. Why ? because of the market value of the team. Teams coming from top 4 European Leagues get the bigger chunk of the market pool.
Every League (not teams) gets specific market pool money according to the UEFA Ranking of European Leagues, and for example last season from Spain Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Real Madrid and Real Sociedad played in group stages so the total market pool for spain was shared between four teams. Where Barcelona got €21 million, Real Madrid €20 million, Atletico got €17 million and Real Sociedad got €8.5 million in market pool money.
Paris Saint Germain on the other hand got massive €33 million from market pool money because only them and Marseille played in the group stages and Marseilles went out without winning a point.
So the Market Pool given out to other low ranked leagues like Ukraine, Russia etc is much lower so the clubs from those countries get less money.
How Much FC Barcelona & Juventus Got For Reaching 2015 Final:
FC Barcelona defeated Juventus in the final of Champions League and set to pocket minimum €57.9m million from their 2014-15 european campaign. Although Juventus Lost but they will make more than Barcelona because larger market pool heading Juventus way as they market pool money reserved for Italian teams will only be shared between Juventus and Roma.
- Barcelona will get around €21.5 million in market pool money plus €36.4m in performance based money.
- Juventus will get €32.14 million in market pool (alone Italian team in the knockouts) plus €30.9m in performance based making grand total of €63 million.
| STAGE | FC BARCELONA | JUVENTUS | |
| Participation Bonus | €8.6 million | €8.6 million | |
| Performance Bonus | €5 million (for winning 5 group games) | €3.5 million (for winning 3 group games + 1 Draw) | |
| Market Pool | €21.5 million | €32.14 million | |
| Round of 16 | €3.5 million | €3.5 million | |
| Quarter Finals | €3.9 million | €3.9 million | |
| Semifinals | €4.9 million | €4.9 million | |
| Finals | €10.5 million (winners) | €6.5 million (runner ups) | |
| TOTAL | €57.9m million | €63 million |
How UEFA Distributed Prize Money In 2013-14 Champions League Season:
Following table shows how all the 32 participating teams were paid in prize money, performance bonus and market pool money.
