Champions League revenue distribution

More than €580m was distributed to the 32 clubs that took part in the 2008/09 UEFA Champions League. The centralised marketing of the competition, based on three-year cycles, and the key aspects of the distribution system were the same as in the previous two seasons.

Two parts
The sums paid to the clubs were again divided into two essentially equal parts – fixed sums based on participation and results, and variable amounts dependent on the value of the television market of the associations represented in the UEFA Champions League.

Match fee
Each of the 32 clubs received a participation premium of €3m, and an additional €400,000 per match played in the group stage, regardless of the result. Each victory in the group matches brought €600,000, while a draw at that stage was worth €300,000.

Further rewards
Clubs that qualified for the first knockout round each received €2.2m; every quarter-finalist received €2.5m, and the four semi-finalists all got an additional €3m; competition winners FC Barcelona were awarded €7m, and runners-up Manchester United FC picked up €4m.

Additional payments
These figures do not include income from the sale of match tickets. In addition to these sums, the clubs receive a share of revenue fixed in accordance with the value of the TV market of the country they represent. If an association has more than one representative, the amount received by each club depends on its position in the national championship in the previous season and the number of games played in the current season's UEFA Champions League.

Solidarity
A proportion of the revenue is reserved for solidarity payments awarded to the clubs eliminated in the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Cup qualifying stages. As far as the UEFA Champions League is concerned, €160,000 was awarded to each national champion that did not reach the group stage; €100,000 per round was paid to each club participating in the first and/or second qualifying round.

Benefits
There were no payments for the third qualifying round, since the winning clubs qualified for the group stage and its revenue distribution system, while the clubs eliminated at this point played in the UEFA Cup, where they benefited from solidarity payments from this competition, as well as keeping the sums received for playing in the first two UEFA Champions League qualifying rounds. Solidarity payments to the 53 UEFA member national associations for clubs involved in the UEFA competitions totalled nearly €26m.

Click here for the distribution list.