How Chelsea could cash in with Champions League qualification

Chelsea are nearly a third of the way through the Premier League season and their chances of qualifying for the Champions League look promising.

Enzo Maresca’s team are in third place, having accumulated 22 points through six wins, four draws, and two defeats. At the same stage last season, under Mauricio Pochettino, now the United States men’s national team manager, they were in 10th, and any talk of qualifying for Europe’s elite club competition was fanciful.

They have not played in the Champions League since losing 4-0 on aggregate to Real Madrid in the quarter-finals during the 2022-23 season. Chelsea returned to European competition this year, playing in the less glamorous Conference League on Thursday nights.

But their ambition is to return to the top table of continental Football, and their start to the domestic campaign has given them a chance of achieving that goal come May.

So, what impact would qualifying for the Champions League have on Chelsea’s finances? The Athletic breaks it down…

How much can clubs earn by playing in the Champions League?

For the 2024-27 cycle of European competitions, UEFA announced earlier this year that qualification alone is worth €18.6million (£15.5m), with each win in the league phase earning a club €2.1m (£1.7m) and a draw bringing in €700,000 (£334k).

Clubs finishing in the top eight of the league phase stand to earn an additional €2million (£1.7m), and those finishing from ninth to 16 will receive €1m.

Qualifying for the round of 16 is worth €11million, the quarter-finals €12.5m (£10.4m), semi-finals €15m (£12.5m), and reaching the final is worth €18.5m (£15.4m). Winning the Champions League will result in a further bonus of €6.5m (£5.4m), and that is before they receive €4m (£3.3m) for playing in the Super Cup. That combined total alone is worth around €100m (£83.5m).

For comparison, winning all of their games in the Conference League, including the final, would see them bring in just over €19million (£15.9m) in prize money.

In addition to the finances that can be earned from UEFA, finishing in the Premier League’s top four is also beneficial because of the increased prize money per position.

The Premier League’s most recent annual report, published in February and taking 2022-23 into account, shows Chelsea, who finished 12th, received £137.7million in total. In contrast, Newcastle United, who ended the season in fourth, earned £164.3m, with the additional money coming because of their higher league position.

Chelsea last played in the Champions League in 2023, losing heavily to Real Madrid (Adrian Dennis/AFP via Getty Images)

Chelsea’s accounts for the year ended June 2024 are yet to be published on Companies House, but their annual report for the fiscal year ending June 2023 showed that matchday revenue increased from £67.4million to £73.7m and commercial revenue was up from £150.6m to £175.3m.

“Under the Swiss model, Chelsea would have been guaranteed four home games against high-quality opposition,” Kieran Maguire, a football finance expert and co-host of the Price of Football podcast, tells The Athletic. “We have seen how Aston Villa have approached that in terms of the prices they are selling match tickets.

“There is no reason why Chelsea, even though they have a limited capacity at Stamford Bridge, can’t be averaging £60 to £70 a ticket. That is £3million a match from matchday alone. You would then have your sponsorship bonuses thrown in on top.

“It is very beneficial to a club. Finishing in the top four is more important than winning the Premier League.”

When their latest set of accounts become available, the price of not playing European football in 2023-24 should be laid bare.

Would it help Chelsea find a front-of-shirt sponsor?

“It is still noticeable that they have not yet signed a front-of-shirt deal this season, and part of the reason for that is nobody cares about Thursday night football — especially the Conference League,” notes Maguire. “Having a Champions League participation to sell next season will assist them significantly.”

The Athletic has detailed why Chelsea are yet to find a front-of-shirt sponsor, despite the season beginning in August. It is the second consecutive year in which they failed to secure sponsorship before the campaign began.

They were banking on qualifying for the Champions League at the end of the 2023-24 season, which would have strengthened their hand when it came to negotiating a lucrative and long-term deal. But they are now in the same position they were in last year, with a fear that entering a long-term deal now would not be as financially beneficial thanks to not being in Europe’s elite club competition.

Chelsea remain in talks with several potential partners over their sponsorship, but that message has been emanating from Stamford Bridge since August and an announcement is yet to be made.

What other impact can Champions League qualification have?

As well as the financial benefits to be gained, it would enable Chelsea to shop in a different market when it comes to adding to their squad. The best young players want to be competing in the Champions League, which is something Chelsea were unable to offer in the summer. They were still able to attract exciting young names — but it would strengthen their hand further.

It also goes the other way in terms of Chelsea being able to retain their best players. Although it is a hindrance, they can live with missing out on elite European football for one season, but if that spills into another campaign and then another, that is when players start getting itchy feet.

There would also be an impact on their wage bill. It is standard practice for clubs to insert incentive-based clauses in their player contracts, and qualifying for the Champions League would be one of those situations and lead to a significant uplift in what each player earns.

However, the club would have budgeted for that, with the eventual addition of a front-of-shirt sponsor, including the money on offer for playing in the Champions League, offsetting any increase in player wages.

Would qualifying for the Champions League cause any issues for Maresca?

Yes, in the sense that he would not be able to get away with splitting his team into Squad A and Squad B for the Premier League and Conference League.

Maresca has been playing a second-string team on Thursday nights — resting his key players — and giving the others a chance to play an active role this season.

The manager hasn’t even registered Cole Palmer, Wesley Fofana and Romeo Lavia to play in Europe this year, and they are still top of the Conference League table — on goal difference — having won all three of their matches.

But if they are back in the Champions League in 2025-26, do you think Palmer would be content missing out on European football? The answer would be a resounding no.

Should they qualify, Chelsea would potentially have to look at trimming a bloated squad to maintain a happy camp, trying to offload the players who won’t have any part to play.

With the volume of games they have this season, in part because of the expanded Conference League, Marseca has been able to keep mostly everyone happy. Winning also helps because it strengthens his position among the squad.

(Top photo: Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)