Money in the UEFA European Cups: What the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League Pay
UEFA distributes the money from the Champions League, the Europa League and the Conference League under a common model. In UEFA’s plan for the 2026/27 season the starting fee is €18.62m in the Champions League, €4.31m in the Europa League and €3.17m in the Conference League. On top of that come bonuses for results, league-phase position and each knockout round.
As of 10 September 2026. The 2026/27 amounts come from UEFA circular no. 48/2026 of 13 July 2026. It is a plan based on UEFA’s estimated revenue; the final payouts depend on the revenue UEFA actually receives and are not guaranteed.
Sources: UEFA circular no. 48/2026 of 13 July 2026 and the audited UEFA financial report for the 2024/25 season.
| Competition | Starting fee 2026/27 | 2024/25 winner, UEFA payout |
|---|---|---|
| Champions League | €18.62m | Paris Saint-Germain: €144.4m |
| Europa League | €4.31m | Tottenham Hotspur: €41.4m |
| Conference League | €3.17m | Chelsea: €21.8m |
How much does a Europa League match win pay in 2026/27?
In UEFA’s plan from circular no. 48/2026 (13.07.2026), a Europa League club is paid €450k for every league-phase win and €150k for a draw. These amounts come from a plan that UEFA still has to confirm, so they are not guaranteed income.
How much is winning the 2026/27 Europa League worth?
According to UEFA circular no. 48/2026 (13.07.2026), a 2026/27 Europa League finalist receives €7m and the final’s winner an extra €6m. These are only final-stage bonuses; the starting fee and match bonuses, among others, come on top. Amounts are a plan for UEFA to confirm.
How much is the starting fee in the 2026/27 European cups?
According to UEFA circular no. 48/2026 (13.07.2026), each of the 36 league-phase clubs can expect €18.62m in the Champions League, €4.31m in the Europa League and €3.17m in the Conference League. The amounts are a plan for UEFA to confirm.
Key numbers
| Item | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Starting fee 2026/27: Champions League / Europa League / Conference League | €18.62m / €4.31m / €3.17m per league-phase club (plan, circular of 13.07.2026) | UEFA, circular no. 48/2026 |
| Europa League 2026/27: league-phase match bonus | €450k per win, €150k per draw (plan, circular of 13.07.2026) | UEFA, circular no. 48/2026 |
| Champions League 2026/27: league-phase match bonus | €2.1m per win, €700k per draw (plan, circular of 13.07.2026) | UEFA, circular no. 48/2026 |
| Europa League 2026/27: final | €7m for the finalist, plus €6m for the winner (plan, circular of 13.07.2026) | UEFA, circular no. 48/2026 |
| Tottenham Hotspur, 2024/25 Europa League winner, UEFA payment | €41.4m (€41,357k), 2024/25 season, amounts paid | UEFA, financial report 2024/25 |
| Paris Saint-Germain, 2024/25 Champions League winner, UEFA payment | €144.4m (€144,415k), 2024/25 season, amounts paid | UEFA, financial report 2024/25 |
Updated: October 2026. Data checked 30.10.2026.
How to cite: “Money in the UEFA European Cups”, Bukmacher na Topie, https://bukmachernatopie.pl/en/european-cup-prize-money/, data checked 30.10.2026.
Where the money comes from
€4.4bn is UEFA’s estimated gross revenue from club competitions for the 2026/27 season.
From that amount UEFA deducts organisational costs (€387m), sets aside 3% (€132m) for a qualifying pool for clubs eliminated in the qualifiers, and a further 7% (€308m) for solidarity payments to clubs that did not play in the European cups at all.
UEFA also earmarks €22m for the Women’s Champions League and €3m for the Youth League. After these deductions the estimated net revenue is €3.548bn; 93.5% goes to the clubs taking part in the league phase and later stages, and 6.5% stays with UEFA.
After these deductions, €3.317bn is left to be shared among the clubs for the 2026/27 season. The Champions League, together with the Super Cup, takes the biggest slice: 74.38% (€2.467bn). The Europa League gets 17.02% (€565m) and the Conference League 8.60% (€285m).
In the already settled 2024/25 season the pool for clubs was €3.352bn, with an almost identical split: 74.4% / 17% / 8.6%. UEFA circular no. 48/2026 of 13 July 2026 describes the 2026/27 season as a UEFA plan.
Three pillars – one payout logic
Each of the three pools is split further into three “pillars”, the same mechanism in every competition:
- Starting fee – an equal amount for every club that qualifies for the league phase, regardless of results.
- Performance share – bonuses for a win and a draw in the league phase, a bonus for league-phase position, and bonuses for progress in the knockout phase (from the play-offs to the final).
- Value pillar – an amount that depends on the market value of the club’s media market and on UEFA’s club coefficient; since the 2024–27 cycle it replaces two former, separate mechanisms: the “market pool” and the coefficient pool.
27.5% starting fee, 37.5% performance share, 35% value pillar – that is how the pillars are split in the Champions League and the Europa League. The Conference League has a different split: 40% / 40% / 20%. A smaller share for the value pillar and more weight on the start and on sporting results suit the youngest and least wealthy of the three cups.
Champions League – where the biggest money goes
€18.62m (€17.87m advance plus €750k balancing payment) – that is what a club receives just for reaching the 36-team Champions League league phase in the 2026/27 season. On top of that come €2.1m for every league-phase win and €700k for a draw.
The league-position bonus is calculated using a system of 666 shares (1+2+…+36): the last-placed club gets one share, the leader 36, and the base value of one share for 2026/27 is €275k. Clubs in places 1–8 receive an extra €2m, and places 9–16 another €1m.
The knockout play-off is worth €1m. The knockout bracket looks like this: round of 16 – €11m; quarter-final – €12.5m; semi-final – €15m; final – €18.5m, and the winner collects a further €6.5m on top of the final amount. The play-off round before the league phase is settled separately: a total pool of €30m, and every club eliminated at that stage receives a fixed €4.29m.
€853m – that is the value pillar in the Champions League in the 2026/27 season, 35% of the pool from the league phase upwards (€2.437bn). It is split into a European part (73%, based on the domestic media market’s contribution and UEFA’s 5-year coefficient) and a non-European part (27%, based solely on the 10-year club coefficient).
Under UEFA’s 2026/27 plan (circular 48/2026) the base share value is €935k in the European part and €346k in the non-European part.
In the 2024/25 season, clubs that played at least the Champions League league phase received an average of €57m. The lowest-paid participant still collected €22m.
The finalists earned the most: the winner, Paris Saint-Germain, €144.4m, and the beaten finalist, F.C. Internazionale Milano, €136.6m – from UEFA distributions alone, excluding ticket or sponsorship income.
The European Super Cup is settled separately: in 2024/25 both participants, Real Madrid and Atalanta, received €4m each, and the winner, Real Madrid, an additional €1m.
Europa League – what a win and the trophy are worth
€4.31m (€4.14m advance plus €170k balancing payment) – that is the Europa League starting fee for the 2026/27 season, less than a quarter of the Champions League amount. The win bonus is €450k, a draw is worth €150k, and the base value of a share in the league-position bonus is €75k. Extra bonuses go to the top places: €600k for places 1–8 and €300k for places 9–16.
The knockout bracket: play-off – €300k; round of 16 – €1.75m; quarter-final – €2.5m; semi-final – €4.2m; final – €7m; winner’s supplement – €6m. The value pillar in 2026/27 is €198m (35% of the pool), with a base share value of €217k in the European part and €80k in the non-European part. The total Europa League pool for the 2026/27 season is €565m, less than a quarter of the Champions League pool.
In the Europa League, clubs that played at least the league phase in the 2024/25 season received an average of €13m. The lowest payout was €6m. The final was won by Tottenham Hotspur, who received €41.4m. Beaten finalists Manchester United received €36.4m.
Conference League – the youngest cup, a different pillar split
The lowest rates of the three cups, but this is where Polish teams most often come into contact with big UEFA money – we cover that separately in the article on how much Polish clubs earn in Europe.
The starting fee for 2026/27 is €3.17m (€3.05m advance plus €120k balancing payment). The win bonus is €400k and a draw is worth €133k. The base value of a share in the league-position bonus is €28k, and the extra bonuses for top places are €400k (places 1–8) and €200k (places 9–16).
The Conference League knockout bracket: play-off – €200k; round of 16 – €800k; quarter-final – €1.3m; semi-final – €2.5m; final – €4m; winner’s supplement – €3m. The value pillar here is only €57m (20% of the pool, the smallest share of the three cups), with a base share value of €63k in the European part and €23k in the non-European part. The total Conference League pool for 2026/27 is €285m.
In the Conference League, clubs that played at least the league phase in the 2024/25 season received an average of €7m. The lowest payout was €4m. In the final Chelsea beat Real Betis Balompié: the winner collected €21.8m, the finalist €17.1m.
The value pillar – how a club’s “quality” is measured
This is the most technical part of the system, but also the one that most strongly rewards clubs from rich media markets and with a high UEFA coefficient. The value pillar combines two former, separate mechanisms from before the 2024–27 cycle: the “market pool”, i.e. the value of the domestic media market, and the coefficient pool, i.e. the individual club coefficient.
In the Champions League the European part of the value pillar (73% of the pool) ranks clubs by two rankings – the domestic broadcaster’s contribution to the competition’s media revenue and UEFA’s 5-year club coefficient – which are averaged, and the result is distributed using the 666-share system.
The non-European part (27%) is based solely on the 10-year club coefficient; the points bonus for past titles disappeared with the new cycle.
For the Europa League and the Conference League, the European/non-European split is based on actual media-rights sales, because both competitions are sold and settled together as one commercial package.
The three cups side by side – full comparison
The table below sets out the rates for the 2026/27 season (UEFA plan) and the actual payouts for the 2024/25 season.
| Parameter | Champions League | Europa League | Conference League |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starting fee (2026/27) | €18.62m | €4.31m | €3.17m |
| League-phase win | €2.1m | €450k | €400k |
| League-phase draw | €700k | €150k | €133k |
| Base share value for league position | €275k | €75k | €28k |
| Supplement for places 1–8 | €2m | €600k | €400k |
| Supplement for places 9–16 | €1m | €300k | €200k |
| Knockout play-off | €1m | €300k | €200k |
| Round of 16 | €11m | €1.75m | €800k |
| Quarter-final | €12.5m | €2.5m | €1.3m |
| Semi-final | €15m | €4.2m | €2.5m |
| Final | €18.5m | €7m | €4m |
| Winner’s supplement | €6.5m | €6m | €3m |
| Value pillar, 2026/27 pool | €853m | €198m | €57m |
| Total competition pool, 2026/27 | €2.467bn (incl. the Super Cup) | €565m | €285m |
| Average club payout from the league phase (2024/25) | €57m | €13m | €7m |
| Lowest league-phase payout (2024/25) | €22m | €6m | €4m |
| Winner (2024/25) | €144.4m (PSG) | €41.4m (Tottenham) | €21.8m (Chelsea) |
| Beaten finalist (2024/25) | €136.6m (Inter) | €36.4m (Man Utd) | €17.1m (Betis) |
€22m went to the lowest-paid participant in the Champions League league phase. That is enough to earn more than many a well-placed club in the Europa League league phase, and more than the Conference League finalist earned.
In the 2024/25 season the Champions League winner earned about 6.6 times more from UEFA distributions than the Conference League winner.
We write more about this gap in the article on the differences between the three UEFA cups.
Qualifiers and money for being knocked out
€132m (3% of the estimated gross revenue) – that is the whole UEFA qualifying pool for the 2026/27 season, paid to clubs eliminated in the qualifiers. Each club receives a fixed fee of €175k for every round played, plus an extra bonus for being eliminated at a particular stage.
The system also has its “parachute”: a club that loses the last qualifying round for the Europa League does not drop out of the competitions but lands in the Conference League league phase.
In the 2024/25 season the whole qualifying pool cost €132m, €24.1m more than in 2023/24, and on top of that came €8m from penalties for breaches of financial rules.
Separately, in the same season UEFA settled €448m of solidarity payments: €140m went to clubs eliminated in the qualifiers and €308m to clubs that did not play in the European cups at all.
We describe the whole qualification mechanism, with the exact amounts at each qualifying stage, in detail in the article on the differences between the Champions League, the Europa League and the Conference League, and what exactly this means for Polish clubs in a separate article below.
What awaits the European cups from 2027/28
The current distribution model applies until the end of the 2026/27 season. A new commercial cycle begins in 2027/28 with a new global sales partner for UEFA (Relevent Football Partners) and announced changes in media-rights revenue.
The mechanics of payouts to clubs in the new cycle have not yet been confirmed, either as a continuation of the current system or as a change to it.
You will find a full, careful overview of what is confirmed, what is only reported, and what remains speculation in the article on the future of the European cups after 2027.
Frequently asked questions (FAQ)
Who pays the money to clubs playing in the European cups?
Only UEFA, from a centralised pool of revenue from media rights, sponsorship and licences, which it divides every year between the three club competitions in fixed proportions set out in the distribution circular. This is separate from what a club earns on its own: tickets, local sponsorship or the television rights of its own league.
How much did clubs that played the Champions League league phase receive?
The average payout for clubs that played at least the league phase was €57m according to the UEFA financial report for the 2024/25 season; the lowest was €22m. The 2026/27 plan provides for a starting fee of €18.62m, to which bonuses for matches and league position are added.
How much does UEFA pay for a win and for winning the Europa League in 2026/27?
Under UEFA’s plan for the 2026/27 season (circular no. 48/2026 of 13 July 2026; planned amounts that still require final approval by UEFA), a single win in the Europa League league phase is worth €450k and a draw €150k, regardless of the €4.31m starting fee for simply reaching the league phase. In the knockout phase, reaching the final brings €7m, and the winner of the final receives an additional €6m (€13m in total for the final alone, before adding the starting fee, match bonuses, league position, earlier rounds and the value pillar). In the 2024/25 season, the total UEFA payout for the whole campaign was €41.4m (exactly €41,357,000) for the winners Tottenham Hotspur and €36.4m for the finalists Manchester United, against an average of €13m for league-phase participants.
How is the value pillar different from the former “market pool”?
The value pillar, introduced with the 2024–27 cycle, merged two previously separate mechanisms – the value of the domestic media market and the individual club coefficient – into one system. It also abolished the points bonus for historical club titles that existed in the 2021–24 cycle.
Are the amounts in UEFA circular no. 48/2026 of 13 July 2026 guaranteed?
Not entirely. The circular describes UEFA’s official payout plan for the 2026/27 season, but UEFA itself states in the document that the figures may still be subject to final approval. The final amounts are confirmed only by the financial report, published about six months after the end of the season – like the report for 2024/25, published in January 2026.
What is the total pool to be shared among clubs in the 2026/27 season?
€3.317bn after deducting UEFA’s organisational costs and the qualifying and solidarity pools. Of this, 74.38% goes to the Champions League and the Super Cup, 17.02% to the Europa League and 8.60% to the Conference League.
Where can I check exactly what Polish clubs earn in the European cups?
Our article on how much Polish clubs earn in Europe gives the amounts for Legia Warszawa and Jagiellonia Białystok, plus context on Poland’s coefficient and its places in the European cups for the 2026/27 season. You will also find the current schedule and the opponents of Polish teams on the page Polish clubs in the European cups 2026/27 (in Polish).
You will find more about the competitions themselves, odds and markets for each cup on the pages Champions League betting, Europa League betting (in Polish) and Conference League betting (in Polish), and a full overview of the site’s sports sections on the page Sport – sections and news (in Polish).
See also: how much Lech Poznań and Jagiellonia could earn in the 2026/27 Europa League league phase.