Liverpool is flying in the Champions League. That has got people wondering about the prize money situation in Europe's premier competition.

It's well-known that Champions League prize money is far more generous than the sums on offer in the Europa League. Nevertheless, upgrades to Anfield and fine work in the commercial department meant that the Reds did manage to increase overall revenue last season, despite the absence from the top table.

Even so, it's certainly a relief for FSG to be back in the Champions League — and not just competing, but thriving. Arne Slot has led Liverpool to the top of the new "league phase", recording seven wins out of seven along the way.

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Somehow, this highly impressive feat has not quite been enough to mathematically confirm a first-place finish. Barcelona's late goal to secure a 5-4 win against Benfica kept the Catalans in with a mathematical shot, although Liverpool will seal its position with a point against PSV next week.

Competitively, it makes no difference — the seeding advantages for the teams that finish first and second are the same. However, Liverpool will bank some extra prize money by finishing top.

There's a $10.1m (£8.2m) incentive on offer for the team that tops the league phase. Naturally, this is a sliding scale rather than a winner-takes-all arrangement, but Liverpool will hope to bank first place and take home the maximum payday.

Should it do so by beating PSV, it will have picked up every possible performance-related bonus up to this point in the competition. Essentially, UEFA rewards teams for every win, as well as for final league position and qualification for subsequent phases.

How much Champions League prize money has Liverpool banked so far?

The first payday Liverpool got was $18.9m (£15.3m) for entering the league phase. It secured this qualification via a top four finish in the Premier League last season.

It has subsequently banked $2.2m ($1.7m) for every Champions League win. At seven wins out of seven, that adds up to $15.4m (£12.4m).

Putting those sums together, Liverpool has taken home $34.3m (£27.8m) with a game still left to play in the group stage. And that's without accounting for any matchday revenue, where the Reds have banked four home matchdays in front of a 61,000 capacity Anfield.

How much total Champions League prize money could Liverpool get?

That's already a handsome sum. It might get you a year or so of a new deal for Mohamed Salah (not that football finances work quite so straightforwardly, sadly).

But by close of play next Wednesday, Liverpool could have added another $23m plus change to its pot. That's because it will officially bank the money for its final league phase position, as well as its qualification bonus.

Assuming Liverpool beats PSV, it will bank an extra $2.2m ($1.7m) for the victory itself. That would also secure top spot, bringing home the $10.1m (£8.2m) payment for first place.

Crucially, Liverpool would also secure $11.5m (£9.3m) for qualifying for the last 16, skipping the play-off round in the process.

That would bring the final post league phase figure to more than $57m (£46m), before a ball has even been kicked in the knockouts.

Moving forward, Liverpool would have plenty of potential to earn even more. Merit payments continue to be offered for each round reached all the way through to the final.

The quarter-finals are worth $13m (£10.5m). Reaching the semi-finals would get Liverpool another $15.6m (£12.6m). Winning the whole thing returns $26m (£21m), with $19.3m (£15.6m) on offer for the runner-up.

There's a lot of football to be played before Virgil van Dijk is lifting the Champions League trophy aloft. But if Liverpool can go on and win the whole thing, it will have made more than $111m (£90m) in prize money alone.

Now for Liverpool to go and win the Champions League

It's not a bad situation for Liverpool to be in, especially having missed out on the Champions League cash cow altogether last season. Win on Wednesday, and more than $57m will be banked, regardless of what happens next.

And in the form that Slot's side is in, you wouldn't bet against further progress, especially as a top-two finish theoretically guarantees kinder draws in the first knockout rounds. Joe Cole has even seemingly referenced the possibility of a quadruple.

That might be getting a little bit carried away. Winning the Champions League is never straightforward — no, not even for Real Madrid.

But in the stands and in the accounting offices, these are exciting times at Liverpool. Here's hoping the owners can invest any Champions League prize money into making sure Slot's side not only gets to the pinnacle of the European game, but stays there too.