Arsenal won a record Champions League prize despite suffering a heartbreaking penalty shootout defeat to PSG in Budapest. After a dramatic 1-1 draw, the Gunners lost 4-3 on a spot-kick at the Puskas Arena after a brutal 12-yard shot from Gabriel Magalhães.
Mikel Arteta’s side have already amassed around £125.18 million in prize money ahead of Saturday’s high-profile final. Although they missed out on lifting the trophy, they earned an extra £16 million for finishing runners-up.
It has been a remarkable Champions League season for Arsenal, who collected £85.3m at the start of the season. Part of this funding came from initial TV funding and ranking pools (worth £49.6m).
On the pitch, they generated considerable amounts of money through their performances. They won all eight games in the league phase and finished top of the table, earning them £15.8 million.
In doing so, they also secured direct passage to the last 16, avoiding the competitive play-off round altogether. This is a feat worth an additional £11.3m.
Finishing top of the table will also net you £8.6 million in prize money, as UEFA will distribute the funds according to each club’s position in the final league phase, with teams finishing higher rewarded more.
Beating Bayer Leverkusen in the last 16 to book a place in the quarter-finals was worth £10.8m. The Gunners drew 1-1 against Germany, then sealed the draw with a 2-0 win at the Emirates Stadium. Arsenal faced Sporting CP in the quarter-finals, defeating the Portuguese side 1-0 on aggregate thanks to Kai Havertz’s late winner in the first leg in Lisbon.
Arsenal’s progress to the semi-finals where they will clash with Atletico Madrid was worth £10.8m to the club’s coffers.
It was a great battle against Atlético. The Premier League winners drew 1-1 in the first leg in Spain amid a VAR controversy, before narrowly winning the second leg in north London 1-0 with a decisive winner from Bukayo Saka.
By securing qualification to the Budapest final, Arsenal’s first Champions League highlight since 2006, the Gunners earned a staggering £15.97m in additional prize money.
Arsenal have collected a total of £141.18m in Champions League prize money over the course of this season, surpassing the £124.62m PSG earned in their trip to Munich last year.
UEFA has set aside a record-breaking £2.13bn prize pot across this season’s Champions League campaign.
