They may not have lifted a trophy last season, but Arsenal were the biggest financial winners when it came to participating in the Champions League last season.
Mikel Arteta’s side made it to the semi-finals before joining Liverpool and Aston Villa in falling to eventual winners PSG.
That run earned Arsenal an absolutely whopping sum of prize money, as a new report published by UEFA this week has confirmed.
Arsenal the big winners as Champions League prize money confirmed
The UEFA Financial Report 2024/25 breaks down the prize money paid to the clubs who took part in the Champions League, Europa League and Conference league last season.
Champions League winners PSG took home €144.4m (£125.9m) for winning the tournament, while beaten finalists Inter got €136.6m (£119m), leaving Arsenal as the highest-earning Premier League side with €117m (£102m).
Despite only reaching the round of 16, Liverpool were the next biggest earners from the Champions League last season ahead of Villa, who went one further by reaching the quarter-finals.
Liverpool’s €98.1m (£85.m) prize money beats out Villa’s €83.7m (£73m) thanks to the a combination of the Reds’ superior coefficient and the fact that Arne Slot’s side finished top of the league phase while Villa finished 8th.
Manchester City took home €76.2m (£66.4m) after going out in the play-off phase.
Merely making it to the league phase was enough to net a club at least €21.9m (£19.1m), with Slovan Bratislava the lowest-earning side of the 32 to make it that far. By contrast, Women’s Champions League winners Arsenal took home just €1.5m (£1.3m) in prize money.
Champions League prize money 2024/25 – Top 20
- PSG – €144.4m (£125.9m)
- Inter – €136.6m (£119.1m)
- Arsenal – €117.0m (£102.0m)
- Barcelona – €116.6m (£101.6m)
- Bayern Munich – €105.9m (£92.3m)
- Borussia Dortmund – €102.2m (£89.0m)
- Real Madrid – €101.8m (£88.8m)
- Liverpool – €98.1m (£85.5m)
- Bayer Leverkusen – €87.1m (£75.9m)
- Atletico Madrid – €84.9m (£74.0m)
- Aston Villa – €83.7m (£72.9m)
- Lille – €78.7m (£68.6m)
- Manchester City – €76.2m (£66.4m)
- Benfica – €71.4m (£62.3m)
- Atalanta – €67.1m (£58.5m)
- Juventus – €66.4m (£57.9m)
- PSV – €65.3m (£56.9m)
- Feyenoord – €64.8m (£56.5m)
- Milan – €61.4m (£53.5m)
- Club Brugge – €60.9m (£53.1m)
The men’s Champions League prize money dwarfs that allocated to the Europa League or the Conference League.
Tottenham Hotspur earned a €41.4m payday for lifting the Europa League last season, with beaten finalists Manchester United scooping €36.4m (£31.7m).
That is less than all but nine of the sides who competed in the clumsily-named Champions League league phase – but of course, winning the competition earned Tottenham a place at the top table this season.
Europa League prize money 2024/25 – Top 10
- Tottenham Hotspur – €41.4m (£36.0m)
- Manchester United – €36.4m (£31.7m)
- Lazio – €24.2m (£21.1m)
- Athletic Club – €24.0m (£20.9m)
- Eintracht Frankfurt – €24.0m (£20.9m)
- Lyon – €22.5m (£19.6m)
- Bodo/Glimt – €21.9m (£19.1m)
- Rangers – €20.7m (£18.0m)
- Roma – €20.5m (£17.9m)
- Ajax – €20.0m (£17.5m)
The prize fund for the Conference League is almost half as much again compared with the Europa League.
Chelsea’s tournament win under Enzo Maresca earned the club the relatively paltry sum of €21.8m (£19m).
That’s only a couple of million quid more than they were paying Raheem Sterling in a single year before his contract was terminated last month.
Conference League prize money 2024/25 – Top 10
- Chelsea – €21.8m (£19.0m)
- Real Betis – €17.1m (£14.9m)
- Fiorentina – €14.0m (£12.2m)
- Djurgardens – €13.0m (£11.3m)
- Legia Warsaw – €10.8m (£9.4m)
- Rapid Vienna – €10.7m (£9.3m)
- Jagiellonia Bialystok – €9.6m (£8.4m)
- Vitoria – €9.4m (£8.2m)
- FC Copenhagen – €8.7m (£7.6m)
- Lugano – €8.5m (£7.4m)
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