Explained: Why Aston Villa received less Champions League prize money than Liverpool - despite going further
Villa earned less prize money than Liverpool in last year’s Champions League despite going further in the competition, a new report has revealed.
Unai Emery’s team reached the quarter-finals before being knocked out by eventual winners Paris Saint-Germain, who were also responsible for beating the Reds in the previous round.
Yet Uefa’s financial report for the 2024-25, released to member associations this week, has revealed it was Liverpool who received more total prize money from the competition.
While Villa banked £72million, the Reds got £85m thanks chiefly to “value pillar” payments which see more than a third of the overall £2.1billion prize pot awarded on the basis of European achievements during the previous decade.
Liverpool, winners of the Champions League in 2019, received twice as much “value pillar” share (£36m) than Villa (£17m), who were playing in Europe’s top club competition for the first time since 1983.
Despite reaching the last-eight, Villa placed only 11th in the final prize money table, with Atletico Madrid and Bayer Leverkusen - both knocked out in the last-16 - also receiving more total cash thanks to their superior recent records in the competition.
Villa enjoyed a superb run through the competition, beating Bayern Munich on route to finishing eighth in the league phase and qualifying directly for the last-16.
After beating Club Brugge 6-1 on aggregate, they were edged out 5-4 by PSG in a thrilling quarter-final.
Villa’s total prize money was significantly more than the £14m they banked for reaching the semi-finals of the previous season’s Conference League, underlining the financial value of playing in the continent’s premier competition.
The club’s revenues were also boosted by playing six matches in front of sell-out crowds despite some controversy over ticket pricing, which saw some supporters paying up to £97 to attend.
Villa missed out on qualifying for this season’s Champions League on goal difference after losing to Manchester United on the final day of last season but are well placed to make a return next term, currently sitting third in the Premier League.
PSG finished top of the prize money table as they banked £125m, with runners-up Inter Milan receiving £118m.
Arsenal, knocked out by PSG at the semi-final stage, were the highest-earning Premier League club with prize money of £101m.
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