Champions League 2015-16 Prize Money: Club-by-Club Breakdown After Round of 16
Arsenal, Chelsea and the other six losers in the 2015-16 UEFA Champions League round of 16 will miss out on the guaranteed €6 million (£4.7 million) prize money on offer to the competition's quarter-finalists.
In total, all clubs to have fallen in the round of 16 passed up the opportunity for a potential €28 million (£22 million), which would be earned by reaching the quarter-finals, semi-finals and eventually winning the tournament.
While it won't make or break their fiscal results, the loss of revenue presents an additional blow for Arsenal and Chelsea, who were undoubtedly hoping to do better this season.
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Most of the eight clubs still in the running for the Old Big Ears have deep pockets, but for the likes of Benfica and Wolfsburg, the extra £4.7 million is a welcome addition to the budget. Here's a look at the full prize-money breakdown for this year's Champions League clubs, courtesy of the UEFA's official website:
| Real Madrid | 16 | 31.5 |
| Bayern Munich | 15 | 31 |
| Barcelona | 14 | 30.5 |
| Atletico Madrid | 13 | 30 |
| Paris Saint-Germain | 13 | 30 |
| Wolfsburg | 12 | 29.5 |
| Manchester City | 12 | 29.5 |
| Benfica | 10 | 28.5 |
| Zenit Saint Petersburg | 15 | 25 |
| Chelsea | 13 | 24 |
| Dynamo Kyiv | 11 | 23 |
| Juventus | 11 | 23 |
| Gent | 10 | 22.5 |
| PSV Eindhoven | 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 that qualified for the group stages received €12 million (roughly £9 million), with €1.5 million (£1.1 million) awarded for each win and €500,000 (£400,000) for each draw. Those who made it to the round of 16 earned another €5.5 million.
Big Clubs Begin to Profit
Zenit Saint Petersburg previously ranked near the top of this year's prize-money winners after a strong group phase, but the Russian club failed to advance past the round of 16, losing to Benfica. The top of the list is now dominated by the usual suspects, who all performed well during the group stages.
Real Madrid top the list after cruising to two wins against AS Roma, having picked up an impressive 16 points during the group stages as well. Bayern Munich sit right on their tail after knocking out Juventus on Wednesday.
The Bianconeri and Bavarians served up an incredible tie, needing extra time to split the two teams. Bayern eventually advanced, courtesy of a 6-4 win on aggregate. Per Adrian Del Monte of Gazzetta World, Juventus can at least be consoled by €70.3 million (£55.4 million) in combined prize money and TV money.
Barcelona and Atletico Madrid are also among the top earners, although the Rojiblancos survived a serious scare against PSV Eindhoven. The Dutch side pushed the Spanish giants to the very limit, missing one of their eight penalties in the eventual shootout.
Per Sport, manager Diego Simeone later told reporters Atletico don't even practice penalties:
"We don't practice penalties because it makes no sense.
German Burgos chose the players for the shoot-out last year against Bayer Leverkusen and he did it again tonight - we have to congratulate him.
It was tough last year and it was tough tonight because it's not easy in these situations. It was like a chess game.
Behind Juanfran's winning penalty is a lot of hard work from a lot of people and it's a great thrill for us to be in the quarters.
"
Barcelona easily took care of Arsenal, keeping their bid to repeat as champions alive. Here's a look at the match highlights:
Manchester City lead all British clubs, earning a cool €29.5 million (£23.22 million), while Chelsea and Arsenal have to settle for €24 million (£19 million) and €22 million (£17 million), respectively.
Benfica are the biggest risers following their win over Zenit, as they picked up just 10 points in the group stages.
Teams qualifying for the semi-finals will make an additional €7 million (£5.5 million), and this year's runner-up will receive €10.5 (£8 million). The prize money for winning the final is a whopping €15 million (£11.8 million).
