Chelsea’s Champions League failure will cost the club £20m in lost revenue
Chelsea’s Champions League failure will cause an income loss of around £20 million compared to last year, adding to the already significant challenge of meeting Uefa’s financial fair-play rules.
For triumphing in last season’s final against Bayern Munich, Chelsea received £48.6 million in prize-money and television deals, a boast to their revenues which helped the club record a first profit since Roman Abramovich became owner in 2003.
The guiding principle of Uefa’s new financial rules are that club’s should at least break even but that will be more difficult next year for Chelsea without the additional European income.
Their early exit means that their Champions League television income will drop by almost a third compared to last year and they also do not now have the opportunity to play for what is potentially more than £20 million in prize money.
Based on last season’s prize money and television income, Chelsea’s performance this year would have resulted in payments of £24.3 million, a 50 per cent drop on what they earned for winning the tournament.
The loss this season, however, will be mitigated by a 22 per cent rise in the overall income on offer from the Champions League, with clubs competing for a total pot of £735 million compared with £608 million last season.