The most exciting European Football competition, the UEFA Champions League, is back. We will see a total of 36 teams playing the UEFA Champions League 2025-26 edition. This edition starts from 16th September 2025, whereas the final is on 30th May 2026. Puskas Arena in Budapest is the venue. Let us have a look at the UEFA Champions League 2025-26 Prize Money Breakdown.
Paris Saint-Germain is the defending champion, as they destroyed Inter 5-0 in the UEFA Champions League 2024-25 edition at the Munich Arena. This was the first year of the new format of the UEFA Champions League, and it was a roller coaster. Eventually, it was the first-ever UEFA Champions League title for PSG. This time, they have the toughest matches in the league phase, and whether they can defend their title is the question.
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Prize Money Breakdown: What Each Round Pays in the UEFA Champions League 2025-26
In this edition of the UEFA Champions League, UEFA is most probably going to earn an estimated €4.4 billion in revenue through all sources. Around €670 million will be distributed among the teams for their participation in the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 edition. All 36 teams will at least earn around €18 million.
Apart from that, the other €914 million is based on their performance in the matches. All teams earn an amount for winning as well as drawing each match. There are also bonuses for qualification. Let us have a look at the breakdown for the group league phase matches and the knockout phase:
Group League Phase Earnings
All teams will play a total of eight matches in the Group League phase of the UEFA Champions League 25/26 edition. For every win, a team gets €2.1 million, whereas for every draw, they earn €750,000. With the advantage of playing two games less when you finish in the top eight, each teams also get a bonus of €2 million extra. For finishing from 9th to 16th, there is a bonus of €1 million extra for each team.
Knock-out Phase Earnings
For playing the Knockout Round Play-off match, all eight teams get €1 million. The amounts go significantly up from here. €11 million is given for the round of 16 match, whereas it is €12.5 million for the quarter-finals. For the semi-finals, all four teams playing get €15 million. The two teams playing in the final get €18 million.
Surely the winners should be awarded separately, and UEFA does so. The winners get an additional €6.5 million. A team winning the UEFA Champions League 25/26 can earn upwards of €100 million, depending on the wins in the tournament.
