Nine Premier League clubs are in European action across three competitions this season.
After being granted an additional place by UEFA last season, the Premier League's top five from 2024/25 - Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester City, Chelsea and Newcastle United - all punched their ticket to European football’s elite club competition, the Champions League. Tottenham Hotspur, by virtue of winning the Europa League at the expense of Manchester United in May, also earned themselves a seat at the top table, and access to the transformative revenues that come with it.
In the Europa League, flying the flag for the Premier League are Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest, although Forest only secured qualification to the Conference League. They traded places with FA Cup winners Palace, who were demoted to Europe's third competition due to multi-club ownership rules.
There is a lot of money on offer for European qualification, but it is the Champions League that dominates the financial landscape, with the potential earnings dwarfing that of the Europa League and Conference League.
But what can Premier League clubs competing across European competitions expect to bank in the coming months? This will constitute a mixture of participation fees, value pillar payouts, prize money and matchday revenue.
All figures have been rounded to a maximum of two decimal places for readability.
Value Pillars
erling haaland
There is plenty of money that flows into UEFA for its competitions thanks to broadcast deals struck globally and the commercial rights sold, with the Champions League driving the value.
UEFA’s revamped revenue model for 2025/26 is a financial flex, with £3.03bn split across its three competitions—but not evenly. The Champions League dominates with £2.16bn (74%), leaving the Europa League with £489m (17%) and the Conference League trailing at £247m (9%). The Champions League generates more than four times the Europa League and nearly nine times that of the Conference League.
Money makes its way to clubs through participation fees, prize money, and broadcast fees, with the distribution of broadcast fee funds done so via a ‘value pillar’ method.
UEFA’s revamped revenue distribution model for its club competitions places the value pillar at the heart of the Champions League, allocating around some €853m (£735m) based on historical performance and market strength. This pillar replaces the old market pool and coefficient payments, rewarding clubs with strong UEFA pedigrees and commercial appeal.
The 36 teams in the league phase share this pot according to their UEFA coefficient rankings, which reflect performance over the past decade. Elite European clubs tend to benefit disproportionately from this pillar. The Europa League and Conference League do include a value pillar, though on a smaller scale than the Champions League.
Revenue in these competitions is split between participation fees, performance-based prize money, and value pillar allocations based on club market value and UEFA coefficients.
With around £487m distributed in the Europa League and £246m in the Conference League, earnings are still heavily influenced by match results and group standings — but legacy and stature play a role too.
How much clubs have earned from the Value Pillar
Manchester City (UCL) – £39.4m
Liverpool (UCL) – £36.8m
Chelsea (UCL) – £34.6m
Arsenal (UCL) – £32m
Tottenham Hotspur (UCL) – £28m
Newcastle United (UCL) – £14.2m
Aston Villa (UEL) – £11.5m
Nottingham Forest (UEL) – £9.6m
Crystal Palace (UECL) – £5.4m
Fixed Participation Fees
Bukayo Saka in action for Arsenal
In 2025/26, clubs reaching the UEFA league phase receive a fixed participation fee:
Champions League - £16.1m
Europa League - £3.7m
Conference League - £2.6m
Prize Money
tottenham xavi simons
The Champions League, Europa League and Conference League all offer prize money for wins and draws in the league phase, in addition to progression through the knockout rounds.
League phase
In the league phase of each competition, clubs receive a variety of fees. These include payments based on results, with separate fees for wins and draws, as well as a league ranking bonus depending on final league position and a further payment for finishing between 1st-8th or 9th-16th.
The ranking bonus based on final league position is decided by separating a prize pot into 666 shares. The bottom position (36th) in the league phase receives one share, while second-bottom (35th) receives two, and so on, with top position (1st) receiving 36.
Each competition has its own initial value for a single share. However, this initial value will increase depending on the number of draws in the league phase. Because clubs receive less for a draw than a win, draws create a deficit between the total amount clubs receive for league phase results and the maximum prize pot. That deficit is added to the prize pot for the league ranking bonus, increasing the value of an individual share.
Champions League Europa League Conference League
League Phase Draw £0.65m £0.13m £0.12m
League Phase Win £1.8m £0.39m £0.35m
Initial Share Value Per League Position £0.24m £0.07m £0.02m
1st-8th Finish £1.7m £0.52m £0.35m
9th-16th Finish £0.9m £0.26m £0.17m
Knockout phase
Each competition rewards clubs for reaching each knockout stage, including the playoff between clubs that finished 9th-24th to earn a place in the Round of 16. There are huge rewards on offer for reaching the final once the fees from each round are accumulated on route. Clubs also receive an additional fee for winning the title which, for the Champions League and Europa League winners, also gives them a further earning opportunity in the European Super Cup.
Champions League Europa League Conference League
Playoff Round £0.87m £0.26m £0.18m
Round of 16 £9.5m £1.5m £0.7m
Quarter Final £10.8m £2.2m £1.1m
Semi Final £13m £3.9m £2.1m
Final £16m £6.1m £3.5m
Champions £5.5m £5.2m £2.6m
European Super Cup
Winners of the Champions League and Europa League automatically qualify for the European Super Cup at the start of the subsequent season. It is much debated whether it qualifies as a trophy to be legitimately proud of, or remains little more than a glorified friendly. Nonetheless, there is extra revenue for the clubs involved.
Qualifying for the Super Cup - £3.5m
Winning the Super Cup - £0.87m
Match Day Revenue
Cole Palmer and Estevao
The move to UEFA’s expanded Swiss Model Champions League created an additional two games for clubs, with the league phase now containing eight games instead of six, with four home games forming part of that.
The same expansion applies to the Europa League and Conference League, with clubs now playing eight league phase matches instead of six — including four at home — offering more chances to earn and engage with fans.
How much clubs earn on any given matchday varies by the size of the club and venue. Liverpool, for example, earned around £3.8m per home game in 2023/24, a campaign that included 19 home league games, three in the domestic cups and five in the Europa League.
European games are an additional boost to revenue as it is money that comes in over and above what season tickets cover, which is the 19 Premier League home games. That means that qualifying for knockout phases of European competition hands clubs more than their guaranteed share.
With a guaranteed four games in the group phase, Liverpool would bring in some £15.2m in matchday revenue. That is money that is the direct result of European competition being part of their calendar, and that drives up the guaranteed revenue even further without factoring in any kind of competitive success, making budget planning far simpler.
Estimated matchday revenue
Tottenham Hotspur – £4.4m
Arsenal – £3.9m
Liverpool – £3.8m
Chelsea – £3.5m
Manchester City – £2.9m
Newcastle United – £1.9m
Aston Villa – £1.2m
Nottingham Forest – £0.6m
Crystal Palace – £0.6m
How Much Each Premier League Club Could Earn
Morgan Rogers
A perfect run in each European competition, meaning winning all eight league phase games (bypassing the playoff), progressing through the knockout rounds, winning the trophy and, for Champions League or Europa League participants, also winning the European Super Cup, would entitle teams to the following in participation fees and prize money:
Champions League - £100m
Europa League - £33m
Conference League - £23m
A perfect run would also include four home games in the league phase and three home legs in the knockout stages, before playing the final (and the European Super Cup final) at a neutral venue. Therefore, each team could make the following in matchday revenue:
Tottenham Hotspur – £30.8m
Arsenal – £27.3m
Liverpool – £26.6m
Chelsea – £24.5m
Manchester City – £20.3m
Newcastle United – £13.3m
Aston Villa – £8.4m
Nottingham Forest – £4.2m
Crystal Palace – £4.2m
Earnings from the value pillar vary from club to club.
Below is the potential earnings each club stood to earn from a perfect run in Europe this season at the start of the campaign. However, results have since affected their individual prize money and the value of shares as part of the league ranking bonus.
Potential earnings from a perfect run in Europe
Club Total Earnings Participation + Prize Money Value Pillar Matchday
Liverpool (UCL) £163.4m £100m £36.8m £26.6m
Man City (UCL) £159.7m £100m £39.4m £20.3m
Arsenal (UCL) £159.3m £100m £32m £27.3m
Chelsea (UCL) £159.1m £100m £34.6m £24.5m
Tottenham (UCL) £158.8m £100m £28m £30.8m
Aston Villa (UEL) £52.9m £33m £11.5m £8.4m
Nottingham Forest (UEL) £46.8m £33m £9.6m £4.2m
Crystal Palace (UECL) £32.6m £23m £5.4m £4.2m
Potential earnings after latest Gameweek
With two gameweeks now passed in the Champions League and Europa League, and one passed in the Conference League, some clubs still have the maximum potential earnings available to them.
But teams who have lost or drawn already in Europe will have missed out on some revenue. Likewise, draws in each competition have affected the share value within the league ranking bonus. For each competition this now stands at:
Champions League - £0.25m (£9m for finishing 1st)
Europa League - £0.07m (£2.6m for finishing 1st)
Conference League - £0.02m (£0.75m for finishing 1st)
Bearing in mind these changes and results so far, the table below shows the maximum each club could now earn from Europe this season.
Club Results Earnings Still Available
Liverpool (UCL) 1W, 1L £162m
Arsenal (UCL) 2W £159.8m
Man City (UCL) 1W, 1D £159m
Chelsea (UCL) 1W, 1L £157.8m
Tottenham (UCL) 1W, 1D £157.5m
Aston Villa (UEL) 2W £52.9m
Nottingham Forest (UEL) 1D, 1L £46.2
Crystal Palace (UECL) 1W £32.6m