By Sam Condy
Celtic look set to bank in excess of £50 million from a heroic Champions League campaign.
The pain of the club’s exit from Europe to Bayern Munich on Tuesday night in Germany will have been softened by the riches of a successful campaign by the Scottish Champions in UEFA’s elite competition.
Brendan Rodgers return to the club was viewed as a direct plan to progress in Europe. The misery of a 7-1 thumping at the hands of Borussia Dortmund was quickly followed be credible performances against Atalanta, FC Brugge and the big win over RB Leipzig. The draw with Dinamo Zagreb and the win over Young boys secured qualification to the knock out phase before their final match day defeat to Aston Villa.
The two-leg tie against German superpower Bayern Munich was always going to be difficult, but after the disappointment of a 2-1 home defeat to the Bundesliga outfit, they restored pride in the return leg one week later at the Allianz Arena.
Nicholas Khun’s second-half goal had Celtic fans believing the impossible dream of knocking the German giants out was a possibility after an excellent first-half display. However, Alphonso Davies’ injury time equaliser denied Celtic the possibility of extra time and the chance to continue their European adventure.
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers has fulfilled his remit to take the club forward in Europe and the financial rewards from this season’s campaign look set to strengthen his desire to make the club even stronger going into next season’s campaign.
It’s understood that Celtic have earned around €46.16 million (£38.22m) in prize money from this season’s Champions League campaign, and that’s not including ticket sales, so the true figure likely sits over the £50 million mark.
Each of the 36 clubs that participated in the league phase received €18.62m in prize money split across two payments. Clubs were also awarded €2.1m per win and €700k for a draw, netting the hoops a further €8.4m.
Additionally, a 21st place finish guaranteed Celtic a play-off place and an additional €5.4m. €300k in leftover money was also handed to the club due to savings made from draws in the league phase.
Celtic were also rewarded according to UEFA’s value pillar programme. Prize money through this system comes from Celtic’s coefficient rankings and the media and broadcasting revenue brought to UEFA through Scottish outlets. Brendan Rodger’s side secured a further €13.44m from this system.
