Clubs chase Euro lottery windfall

CHAMPIONS OF EUROPE ... Spanish giants Barcelona celebrate after thrashing Manchester United in this year's final

THERE are one BILLION reasons why every top club busts a gut to get into the Champions League.

It is the net-busting amount of money waiting to be earned for every kick, goal, win, draw and even armchair fan.

The staggering £1,000,000,000 is the amount UEFA officials expect the Champions League to generate again this season from TV rights around Europe and tournament sponsorship.

The Champions League is without doubt the biggest cash cow in football. Everyone wants to milk it and here SunSport spells out exactly why.

Official figures seen by us show a mind-boggling £685.54m was set aside for prize money alone last season, with more gobbled up by UEFA running costs and support.

Such is Manchester United's pulling power around the world, they raked in more Champions League loot last season than Barcelona - even though they were beaten by the Spaniards in the final.

United's 11-game run to Wembley was worth £48.4m, while Barcelona's 2-0 victory netted them £46.4m.

That jackpot for United dwarfed the £15.13m the Old Trafford giants received in addition for lifting their 12th Premier League title. The reason United picked up more in total in Europe is because of the lucrative deal signed with domestic broadcasters for live Champions League matches and highlights packages.

All the media rights money from every country goes into a market pool to be shared out. But the more one country puts in, the more clubs from that country can take out as a percentage. The more a team appears also influences the final pay-out.

United took £23.5m from the market pool, Barcelona £18.4m. But Chelsea, eliminated in the quarter-finals, were the biggest pool earners on £24.5m.

UEFA also contribute to the pool, with sponsorships from companies like Ford, adidas and Mastercard.

Each of the 32 group stage qualifiers collects a 'participation bonus' of around £3.5m. On top of that, clubs get £500,000 for each game they play plus £770,000 for each win and £363,000 for a draw.

All sides in the last 16 bag another £2.7m, with £3m for reaching the quarter-finals and £3.8m the semis.

The runners-up, United, pulled in an extra £5.09m, with Barca taking a further £8.1m for their fourth triumph.

Tottenham made £28.3m from their run to the quarter-finals. Arsenal banked £27.3m and Chelsea £40.5m.