Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur would have made a fortune had they progressed to the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League
10:41, 19 Mar 2026
Djed Spence of Tottenham Hotspur (left) and Joao Pedro of Chelsea
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Chelsea and Tottenham have both been knocked out of the Champions League (Photo by Visionhaus/Getty Images)
Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur have missed out on the chance to bank tens of millions in prize money after crashing out of the UEFA Champions League. The two Premier League clubs were dumped out of the competition earlier this week following defeats to Paris Saint-Germain and Atletico Madrid, respectively, over two legs in the last-16.
The French giants stormed past Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday evening, wrapping up an 8-2 aggregate win. The following night, Tottenham defeated Diego Simeone's side but, despite their best efforts, still lost 7-5 on aggregate.
The Blues and the Lilywhites would've been awarded £10.8million if they had progressed to the quarter-finals of the Champions League. Had either of the two London outfits managed to reach the semi-final, they would have pocketed £13m.
The runners-up of the competition receive £16m, while the winners get £21.6m. Although Chelsea and Tottenham missed out on the chance to bank a further £45.4m from the knockout stages, they will still be rewarded handsomely for their efforts in the group phase.
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When UEFA expanded each of its three club competitions last season, they introduced a new revenue distribution system worth almost £3billion. The football governing body pledged that just over £2.1bn (74.4 per cent of the prize pool) will be distributed to clubs competing in the Champions League and Super Cup.
They also set aside £490.7m for teams competing in the Europa League, and £247.5m for teams competing in the Conference League. So, like every other club in the European top-flight, Chelsea and Tottenham were awarded £16.2m by UEFA just for taking part.
Xavi Simons in action
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Xavi Simons was one of a number of Tottenham players to impress(Image: Vince Mignott/DeFodi Images/DeFodi via Getty Images)
In the group phase, they dish out £1.82m per victory and £605k for a draw, so the Blues and the Lilywhites banked £9.7m and £10.3m, respectively. UEFA also offer £239k per final position in 'group phase', so Chelsea and Tottenham each secured a further £7.4m and £7.9m.
They also reward clubs that finish in the top eight and advance directly to the last 16, so they both earned an additional £9.6m for their efforts. All in all, the Blues and the Lilywhites pocketed £42.9m and £44m, respectively.
Speaking to reporters at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday night, Rosenior reflected on Chelsea's exit from the Champions League. The 41-year-old said: "We need to be resilient.
Chelsea boss Liam Rosenior
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Chelsea boss Liam Rosenior was unable to lead his side to victory against PSG(Image: Robin Jones/Getty Images)
"We need to make sure we go to Everton with an organisation, with a freshness and intensity in our team, because we want to be in this competition next season. And if we perform how I know we can, we can get there without the individual mistakes that we're making at the moment."
The following evening, Tudor said: "It's nice, the sensation and feelings are mixed, of course. We are out, but as you said, it was a sensation of one very good team on the pitch, one very good performance of the players, the energy, as you said before, was very nice.
"From the first moment, the fans recognised that the team will try to do everything they can do, so from the first moment until the last moment, they were with us, it was beautiful. Thanks."
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