Staggering amounts Arsenal & Chelsea have earned from UCL already

Arsenal and Chelsea both saw convincing wins in the Champions League this midweek

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The Champions League is well underway for this season, and the third midweek round of matches for the competition served up some must-watch encounters as English sides ran riot.

Arsenal’s 12-minute second-half blitz blew Spanish giants Atletico Madrid away 4-0, while Chelsea had three teenagers on the scoresheet including Brazilian wonderkid Estevao as Ajax were thrashed for five at Stamford Bridge. Tottenham Hotspur provided a hard-fought defensive display inspired by goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario to earn a goalless draw in Monaco, while outside the capital Liverpool and Manchester City were also victorious.

The sheer magnitude of score lines enjoyed by Premier League sides this week only fuelled the growing idea that English clubs could do well in this year’s competition. This was backed up by European football expert Guillem Balague, who claimed on BBC Match of the Day’s Champions League highlights show that the English top flight should have “five clubs in the quarter-finals [of the UCL], three in the semi-finals and two in the final”.

How much money would the clubs in question earn if that were to happen, and how much have they earnt already?

London clubs’ winnings in the Champions League already this season

Arsenal have won the most prize money out of the English clubs in the Champions League so far this season, having picked up an 100% record of three victories from three to sit fourth in the league phase, behind PSG, Bayern Munich and Inter Milan on goal difference.

Each club in the competition earns a starting fee of €18.62 million (£16.2m) for qualification to the league phase, while there is prize money of €2.1m (£1.8m) per victory and €700k (£608k) for a draw. There is an additional ‘value pillar’ fund, which amounts to 35% of the total prize pot, and is calculated by a club’s coefficient and broadcast revenue. The total purse for the competition this season is a cool €2.467 billion (£2.142b).

Considering the starting fee and prize money picked up already, Arsenal have earnt €24.92m (£21.6m) for their exploits so far in the competition after three wins. Chelsea have earnt €22.82m (£19.8m) for their two wins and a defeat, while Spurs have picked up €22.12m (£19.2m) for their one victory and two draws.

How much could Arsenal or Chelsea earn for winning the UCL?

There are mouth-watering prize money funds for each stage of the competition reached once we get to the knock-out rounds in 2026.

While €1m is gained for taking part in a knock-out phase play-off, €11m is then brought in for those who qualify for the last 16 and €12.5m for the quarter-finalists. The semi-finalists then earn €15m, the runner-up pockets €18.5m and the winner of the final earns a huge €25m. As each of these totals are totted up round-on-round, the knock-out stages alone are worth up to €83m (£72m).

Should Arsenal, for example, win every league phase game and then go all the way to win the trophy for the first time ever, their total prize pot would be a staggering €115.2m (£100m). Chelsea could win up to €113.1m (£98.2m) thanks to their defeat in Munich, Spurs can win up to €112.3m (£97.5m), and so on. This is not including the winner’s share of the value pillar fund, which is more difficult to calculate, but would no doubt be high for any English side winning the competition due to the Premier League’s global broadcasting power.

PSG earnt a whopping €83.12m (£72.2m) in prize money for going all the way to win the competition last season, but with the total prize pot increasing this term, that total could be dwarfed by whoever wins the famous trophy this time around.