UEFA confirms solidarity payments to clubs participating in European competitions

A total of €754.1m was distributed to clubs participating in the UEFA Champions League last season while clubs taking part in the UEFA Europa League received a total of €150.36m.

Valletta, who played in the first two qualifying rounds of the 2011/12 UEFA Champions League received the €200,000 reserved for each domestic champion which did not qualify for the group stage and a total of €260,000 for playing in two rounds. Therefore, the Citizens received €460,000 in all. Birkirkara and Floriana, who took part in the first qualifying round of the UEFA Europa League received €90,000 each.

Chelsea FC, who won the title after a penalty shoot-out at the Fußball Arena München in May, received €59.935m in payments from UEFA. This sum consisted of €29.9m in participation, match and performance bonuses in the group and knockout stages, including the final, as well as €30.035m from the television market pool. Bayern earned a total of €41.730m: €26.9m in participation, match and performance payments, and €14.830m from the TV market pool.

In addition, €9m went to Chelsea for their success in the final, while Bayern earned €5.6m as runners-up. Other clubs to earn substantial amounts from the 2011/12 UEFA Champions League were FC Barcelona (€40.550m), AC Milan (€39.864m), Real Madrid CF (€38.434m), Manchester United FC (€35.182m) and FC Internazionale Milano (€31.569m).

The €754.1m prize money allotted to the 32 teams who figured from the group stage onwards consisted of €413m in fixed amounts plus €341.1m from the market pool. All of the 32 participating clubs received a minimum €7.2m in accordance with the distribution system, comprising a participation bonus of €3.9m and €3.3m from the six €550,000 match bonuses given per group game.

Additionally, performance bonuses were paid in the group stage: sides received €800,000 for every win and €400,000 for every draw, with Madrid the only club to net the maximum €4.8m. The 16 clubs that reached the round of 16 were each assigned an additional €3m, the eight quarter-finalists an extra €3.3m, and the four semi-finalists a bonus of €4.2m.

Meanwhile Club Atlético de Madrid, winners of the UEFA Europa League, earned themselves just over €10.5m after coming through the group and knockout stages to clinch the trophy with a fine 3-0 win over fellow Spanish outfit Athletic Club in Bucharest in May. Athletic Club received around €9.5m for their own splendid run.

Each of the 48 clubs in the group stage earned a participation bonus of €640,000, plus a bonus of €60,000 per group game played, which meant that every club received €1m, irrespective of their results. Performance bonuses amounted to €140,000 per win and €70,000 per draw for each club in the group stage. RSC Anderlecht were the only club to receive the full amount of €840,000 for a 100% record in their group programme.

Each participant in the round of 32 received an extra €200,000, with further progress being rewarded by payments of €300,000 for advancing to the round of 16, €400,000 for the quarter-finals and €700,000 for the semi-finals.

Atlético earned €3m for winning the final in Bucharest, and Athletic Club €2m. In addition, €60m in prize money came from the television market pool and was shared out according to a variety of factors, including the proportional value of an individual club’s national TV market. Atlético received nearly €4.3m from the market pool and around €5.2m from participation, performance and match bonuses.