How much does the champion of the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League 2023/2024 earn?

UEFA's three competitions, the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League, can generate big profits for the clubs involved, although the UCL really is a different beast compared to the European tournaments.

When an underdog reaches the latter stages of the Champions League, it is not the prospect of winning it that really excites the decision-makers at the club. It's the incredible windfall of money that comes from advancing through each round, winning a game, and being able to sell out the stadium and televise the games internationally.

UEFA has stated that the gross revenue from the 2023/24 Champions League, Europa League and Europa Conference League and the 2023 Super Cup is estimated at €3.5 billion. They have a money distribution plan that is based on that figure but also includes fixed amounts.

With the 2023/24 editions of each tournament now in the quarter-finals, here is the amount of money on the table for the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League.

Of that figure close to 3.5 billion euros, almost 323 million are deducted for the estimated organizational and administrative costs related to the competitions, 3% (105 million euros) will be reserved for payments for the qualification round. and 4% (140 million euros) will be reserved for non-participating clubs.

Taking all of these calculations into account, the total amount available to distribute among participating clubs is approximately €2.73 billion. Of that amount, 2.03 billion euros will be distributed among the participants in the Champions League and the Super Cup. This is the same as the 2022/23 edition of the Champions League, making it much easier to know who this year's winners will be.

There are different ways to distribute the money. Simply because of how far a team goes in the tournament, 55% of the prize is shared. You can see the figures in the following table:

There are two other ways to distribute Champions League money. 30% comes from the coefficient payment and the remaining 15% from the broadcasting market.

The coefficient represents around €600 million and is paid to the 32 participating clubs based on UEFA's algorithm that tracks progress in UEFA tournaments over the previous 10 years. Teams are ranked 1-32 and there are bonus points for winning trophies.

Then, the lowest ranked team wins one share 1.137 million euros, while the best ranked team wins 32 shares (36.38 million euros). The highest ranked team left is Real Madrid, and the lowest ranked team is Arsenal.

Manchester City were the winners last season and raised a whopping €80 million in the entire tournament. The most a winner could get this season is €85.14 million, but they would need to win every match in the tournament to truly maximize the winnings.

There is a significant drop in money when it comes to the Europa League, which is arguably the main reason clubs are taking it seriously. Winning it allows you access to the Champions League, regardless of your position in the national league.

€465 million of those original €2.8 billion are given to Europa League competitors. That's1.5 billion less than the Champions League.

The breakdown of the prize money is as follows.

The coefficient-based amount for the Europa League this season is €69.75 million and is distributed in the same way as the Champions League. The lowest ranked team receives 132,000 euros and the best ranked team receives 4.2 million euros. The highest ranked team left is Liverpool and the lowest ranked team is West Ham United.

The Europa League broadcast fund is €139.5 million and that is also divided as detailed above in the Champions League section.

In total, approximately 25 million is on offer for the eventual Europa League winners, but the real cash prize comes when you have a shot at the Champions League in the following season.

Of course, there is another drop in finances when you get to the Europa Conference League, but winning it gets you into the Europa League. In total, there are 235 million euros available for the teams that are in the Conference League.

The prize money is divided as follows:

The prize for the coefficients is 23.5 million euros for the Conference League, with the worst classified part being 44,500 euros and the best classified 1.42 million euros. The highest ranked team left is Fiorentina and the lowest ranked team is Aston Villa.

The broadcasting fund is also 23.5 million euros and is distributed in the same way as the Champions League and the Europa League.

The winners will receive approximately 15 million euros from the Europa Conference League.