Uefa announces huge hike in Champions League and Europa League prize money

Booming broadcast and commercial revenues will increase the prize fund for European club competitions next season by 50 per cent compared to this season, Uefa has announced.

Total income from the Champions League, Europa League and Super Cup is estimated to hit £2.85billion in 2018/19, up nearly £800million on this season's figure.

This translates to a prize pot of £2.23billion, with UEFA's costs and solidarity payments accounting for the rest.

The lion's share, as ever, will go to clubs in the Champions League, with qualification for the group stage worth a guaranteed £13.35million, plus £2.36million for a win and nearly £800,000 for a draw.

There are further bonuses for progressing through each round of the knock-out stages, with the winner at Atletico Madrid's Wanda Metropolitano home collecting a further £44.65million in prize money.

And then there are further payments that depend on each club's record in Uefa competitions over the last 10 years - the performance-based coefficient rankings currently led by Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Atletico and Manchester United - and each club's share of its national broadcast 'market pool'.

Taken altogether, a Champions League victory would be worth more than £100million to a British club next season.

The money available to Europa League contestants is not quite as impressive - and the total prize fund has only grown by 25 per cent to £446.5million - but a British win could be worth more than £25million.

In fact, Uefa is making so much money from its club competitions that a domestic champion, such as Gibraltar's Lincoln Red Imps, that loses in the preliminary round of Champions League qualifying this summer will still get £430,000 for their trouble.