Champions League 2015-16 Prize Money: Club-by-Club Breakdown After Group Stage
Manchester United's group-stage exit from the UEFA Champions League has cost the Red Devils a staggering €38.5 million (£27.9 million) in potential prize money.
They had every chance of making it out of their relatively easy group and into the last 16, but they failed to get the necessary victory against Wolfsburg on Tuesday and came third as a result.
Porto were another surprising early casualty from the group stage, while Premier League giants Arsenal and Chelsea both confirmed their qualification on the final matchday.
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With last-16 qualification worth €5.5 million (£4 million) for each club and increasingly generous prize money offered in the subsequent stages—up to €15 million (£10.9 million) for the winners—an early exit is very costly.
Here is a full breakdown of the prize money earned by each club in the Champions League group stage, per UEFA:
| Club | Group Points | Prize Money (million €) |
| Real Madrid | 16 | 25.5 |
| Zenit Saint Petersburg | 15 | 25 |
| Bayern Munich | 15 | 25 |
| Barcelona | 14 | 24.5 |
| Atletico Madrid | 13 | 24 |
| Paris Saint-Germain | 13 | 24 |
| Chelsea | 13 | 24 |
| Wolfsburg | 12 | 23.5 |
| Manchester City | 12 | 23.5 |
| Dynamo Kyiv | 11 | 23 |
| Juventus | 11 | 23 |
| Gent | 10 | 22.5 |
| PSV Eindhoven | 10 | 22.5 |
| Benfica | 10 | 22.5 |
| Arsenal | 9 | 22 |
| Roma | 6 | 20.5 |
| Porto | 10 | 17 |
| Olympiacos | 9 | 16.5 |
| Manchester United | 8 | 16 |
| Sevilla | 6 | 15 |
| Bayer Leverkusen | 6 | 15 |
| Valencia | 6 | 15 |
| BATE Borisov | 5 | 14.5 |
| Borussia Monchengladbach | 5 | 14.5 |
| Galatasaray | 5 | 14.5 |
| CSKA Moscow | 4 | 14 |
| Astana | 4 | 14 |
| Lyon | 4 | 14 |
| Dinamo Zagreb | 3 | 13.5 |
| Malmo | 3 | 13.5 |
| Shakhtar Donetsk | 3 | 13.5 |
| Maccabi Tel-Aviv | 0 | 12 |
Note: Each club qualified for the group stages receives €12 million, with €1.5 million awarded for each win and €500,000 for each draw.
The maximum possible to be earned from the group stage is €26.5 million (£19.2 million), based on winning six games from six and thus qualifying to the last 16.
A total of €28 million (£20.3) can then be earned through the next stages for the eventual winner.
As United were only able to win twice in their group and they earned two costly draws against CSKA Moscow away and PSV Eindhoven at home, their eventual prize money from the group stage was €16 million (£11.6 million).
Given their financial muscle and the easy nature of their group, there is little excuse for United having ended up in the UEFA Europa League, per the Manchester Evening News' Stuart Brennan:
Wolfsburg was always going to be a difficult place to go and win on the final matchday, and United really should have wrapped up qualification in the penultimate group game, but they could only earn a 0-0 draw with PSV at Old Trafford.
Red Devils manager Louis van Gaal has come under intense scrutiny following the club's elimination from Europe's premier club competition, with some suggesting he may not be long for the job, per the Daily Telegraph:
Porto have every right to feel aggrieved to have gone out despite accruing 10 points in Group G, a tally that would have seen them better rewarded elsewhere.
Roma somehow managed to squeeze through in Group E despite only claiming one victory and six points.
Zenit Saint Petersburg are a somewhat surprising inclusion at the top of the prize-money earnings, but they were impressive in winning five of their six games.
The likes of Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Barcelona, though, had inevitably excellent group campaigns and will likely still be around at the business end of the 2015-16 Champions League.
