Now, the 2024–2025 Champions League final at Allianz Arena is drawing near. A league table replaced the traditional group rounds for which the Champions League was renowned in the current season, bringing a new format to Europe’s most prestigious football competition.
With this revised configuration, the competition now consists of 36 teams instead of 32, and each team plays eight games rather than six. Even while there are still a lot of unanswered questions regarding the new format—especially because it is still in its early stages—the smaller teams that participate clearly gain from it because it gives them the opportunity to make more money on the continent.
How much money have all the teams in the Champions League made so far? The two finalists have been decided following an exciting round of semi-final matches, and Munich, Germany, is getting ready for the matchup between Inter Milan and Paris Saint-Germain.
From the 36th to the 27th, including RB Salzburg, Bologna, and Sparta Prague
Many of the teams that are ranked toward the bottom of the incomings list are minnows compared to the top, which should come as no surprise. With slightly less than £19 million, Slovan Bratislava made the least amount of money of any team in the campaign. They are the only teams from the league phase to earn less than £25 million in the Champions League, along with Sparta Prague and Strum Graz.
Red Star Belgrade is still 1.5 million pounds ahead of BSC Young Boys and Girona, who barely cross that line. While Croatian powerhouse Dinamo Zagreb earned just over £34 million in the competition, Bologna barely broke the £30 million barrier, failing to duplicate their domestic success from the previous season. As they finish in the bottom 10, Shakhtar Donetsk and RB Salzburg made about £1 million and £2 million more than Zagreb, respectively.
Champions League Top Earners (36-27)
Rank
Group
Revenue
27.
RB Salzburg
£36.55 million
28.
Donetsk’s Shakhtar
£35.48 million
29.
Zagreb Dinamo
£34.11 million
30.
Bologna
£30.29 million
31.
Belgrade’s Red Star
£27.50 million
32.
Young Boys at BSC
£25.93 million
33.
The Girona
£25.7 million
34.
Prague’s Sparta
£24.48 million
35.
Graz Sturm
£24.07 million
36.
Bratislava, Slovan
£18.78 million
26th–17th
Including AC Milan, Celtic, and Brest
At the bottom of this standing are VfB Stuttgart and Celtic, followed by Sporting CP, who lost to Dortmund in the knockout stage. Stade Brestois 29, Micah Richards’ new favorite team, has won over the public and left the competition with £44.52 million.
Even though RB Leipzig only managed to win one of their eight games played and finished the league phase with just three points, they nevertheless took home more than £50 million in prize money.
The former runners-up, AS Monaco, are positioned above the German team, earning a respectable sum from their run. Club Brugge and AC Milan are next in line. Both Dutch powerhouses Feyenoord and PSV advanced past the league stage and earned £55.67 million and £56.07 million, respectively, throughout their seasons.
Champions League Top Earners (26–17)
17.
PSV
£56.07 million
18.
The Feyenoord
£55.67 million
19.
Milan AC
£52.71 million
20.
Brugge Club
£52.28 million
21.
Monaco
£51.34 million
22.
RB Leipzig
50.49 million pounds
23.
Brestois Stadium 29
£44.52 million
24.
Lisbon Sporting
42.07 million pounds
25.
Celtic
£39.7 million
26.
Stuttgart
36.91 million pounds
16–7, including Real Madrid, Manchester City, and Liverpool
Juventus, who just broke the £57 million mark with their current Champions League profits, come in at number sixteen on the list. Atalanta is ranked just behind Benfica and above them. Beyond that, 2023 champions Manchester City, Lille, and Aston Villa—the latter of whom made an impression en route to the quarterfinals—all rank just outside the top 10 of highest earners.
Atletico Madrid, who were eliminated by bitter rivals Real Madrid in the round of 16, is ranked first in the top 10. The Spanish team is now just behind Bayer Leverkusen, which also left the competition at the same point, with just under £73 million from their endeavors.
Since Liverpool and Real Madrid are at odds, two other European powerhouses just miss out on the top six. The Reds lost to PSV to prevent them from winning all eight games, which prevented them from having a perfect league phase record. Prior to being eliminated by PSG in the round of 16, they were the clear favorites to win the competition. Real Madrid advanced one round before losing badly to Arsenal.
Champions League Top Earners (16–7)
Rank
Group
Revenue
7.
Real Madrid
£87.48 million
8.
Liverpool
£84.30 million
9.
Leverkusen Bayer
£74.83 million
10.
Real Madrid
£72.94 million
11.
Villa Aston
£71.89 million
12.
Lille LOSC
£67.63 million
13.
City of Manchester
£65.48 million
14.
Benfica
£61.37 million
15.
Atlanta
£57.62 million
16.
Juventus
£57.06 million
First place, sixth
Bayern Munich, Barcelona, Arsenal, Inter Milan, PSG, and Borussia Dortmund
Borussia Dortmund just missed out on the top five. They advanced to the quarterfinals of Europe’s top cup tournament this season before losing to Barcelona, despite their poor performance in the Bundesliga. Following them is Bayern Munich, who lost to Inter Milan at the same point.
The four semi-finalists comprise the top four teams, all of whom have earned in and around the £100 million level. Barcelona, who suffered a stunning defeat at the hands of Inter Milan, are in fourth place. Having not won the Champions League since 2015, they are still vying for the title.
In the quarterfinals, Arsenal easily defeated holders Real Madrid after destroying PSV in the round of sixteen. Their run to the final four was incredibly spectacular. Despite being too far away from Mikel Areta’s team, Paris Saint-Germain managed to bank £99.21 million throughout their run to the semi-finals.
With earnings of £115.86 million and £116.95 million, respectively, Inter Milan and Paris Saint-Germain are in second and first place. PSG, one of the biggest teams to never win the Champions League, will try to make history when they play Inter for a spot in the final.
Champions League Top Earners (6-1)
Rank
Group
Revenue
1.
Saint-Germain, Paris
£116.95 million
2.
Milan Inter
£115.86 million
3.
The Arsenal
£99.21 million
4.
Barcelona
£98.84 million
5.
The Bayern Munich
£90.93 million
6.
Dortmund Borussia
£87.75 million
xz
