There's a reason the biggest clubs in the world fight tooth and nail to qualify for - and then to go far in - the Champions League - and it's not just so they can hear the iconic anthem blaring through their stadium speakers. Europe's premier competition is big business, financially, and in the world of profit and sustainability rules [PSR] ruling the roost, it can prove a game-changer to a team's balance sheet.

Newcastle discovered this last season, bolstering their finances with a short-lived stint in football's biggest competition. After narrowly missing out on the knockout stages - and also failing to drop into the Europa League - after AC Milan stunned Eddie Howe's side at St James' Park, the Magpies missed out on even more eye-watering prize pots that are earned as the tournament reaches its final stages.

The vast amounts of prize money are on show from the off, with Newcastle securing a £13m cash injection simply for qualifying for the group stage. A win and a draw against Paris Saint-Germain and a point in the San Siro against AC Milan bumped their total prize fund up to £17.3m.

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That is before you factor in a similar figure earned from broadcast revenue and Newcastle's small slither of UEFA's 'coefficient' prize pot at the end of the tournament, where the Magpies will have been close to recouping an extra €1.1m [£900k] due to the fact their co-efficient ranking was among the lowest in last year's competition.

After narrowly missing out on Europe last term, Newcastle can only sit and watch as their Premier League rivals share the spoils this time around, with last night's 18-game bonanza bringing an end to the revamped format of the group stage.

After finishing as the tournament's league stage winners, Premier League leaders Liverpool have pocketed the highest amount of all 36 sides involved so far. That includes a standard group stage fee of £15.5m and £9.2m for reaching the knockout rounds, on top of £12.3m for their 21 points gained in the opening eight matches.

Arne Slot's men will bank £10.4m for winning the league stage and will pocket an extra £35.2m due to their market pool, five-year coefficient and 10-year coefficient - taking their total to a whopping £82.7m in total.

In terms of other Premier League sides, Arsenal sit next in the list after pocketing £74m in prize money up to this point. The Gunners will take home the same qualifying figures as the Reds after progressing but will take home lower coefficient prize money - £28.7m to Liverpool's £35.2m.

Despite failing to qualify for the round of 16 - with a nervy play-off clash awaiting - Manchester City rank as the third most profitable English club at this stage of the competition. Pep Guardiola's side have only earned £830k for sealing a playoff spot, on top of the usual revenue for reaching the league stage to start with.

However, the club's historical performance in the Champions League has boosted their coffers to the tune of a whopping £63.3m. Aston Villa, who finished eighth in the table and are therefore straight into the knockouts, have banked close to £60m in prize money thus far. This, before they recoup an additional £64m for Jhon Duran who is closing in on a move to PIF-backed Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia.

Thanks to their exploits this time last year, Newcastle's next set of financial accounts are poised to look a lot healthier, with the Deloitte Money League recently revealing the Magpies had increased their total annual revenue from £250m to £314m. The St James' Park outfit have significantly increased their commercial revenue due to partnerships with the likes of Adidas, Sela, Red Bull and others.

Matchday revenue has also skyrocketed due to changes inside St James' Park and the club's STACK fan zone proving incredibly popular. Deloitte state, however, that the majority of the club's revenue comes from broadcasting, with Premier League and Champions League TV money proving more lucrative with each passing year.