Exclusive: Celtic could land £48m windfall – official documents reveal
Celtic could bank around £48million if they manage to make it through to the knockout rounds of the Champions League this season, sources have told Football Insider.
The Glasgow giants booked their place in European football’s premier club competition after beating Rangers to the Scottish Premiership title last season.
The Times reported on 27 August top Champions League clubs could be in line to make an extra £23million from the competition following Uefa’s format change this season.
The number of clubs taking part has risen from 32 to 36, with the teams all competing in one single league competition and each side playing eight different opponents – four at home and four away.
Celtic got their European campaign off to a perfect start when they beat Slovan Bratislava 5-1 before suffering a demoralising 7-1 defeat against Borussia Dortmund.
But Brendan Rodgers’s side put in a gutsy performance in their third group game against Atalanta on Wednesday to come away with a 0-0 draw against the Serie A club.
Celtic now only have two away games left to play against Dinamo Zagreb and Aston Villa, while they will face RB Leipzig, Club Brugge and Young Boys at home.
Celtic could blow Rangers out the water with knockout qualification
As per official Uefa documents released in March, each team will earn a guaranteed £16million for playing in the Champions League this season.
They will then be in line for extra cash payments under the governing body’s new value pillar system, which is split into European and non-European segments based on their coefficient ranking and the market pool.
The two extra group stage games provide clubs with a chance to generate more revenue from matches, with £1.8million awarded for each win and £583,000 for a draw.
Celtic could receive £9.2million for qualifying automatically for the last 16, while the clubs who finish between ninth and 24th will earn £830,000 for featuring in the knockout round play-offs.
The top eight teams will then be awarded an extra £1.7million, with those finishing between ninth and 16th handed £830,000.
In a further incentive to finish as high up the table as possible, clubs will also be paid an amount based on their individual ranking after the eight group stage games.
The bottom side will earn £229,000, while Celtic’s current position of 20th would be worth £3.9million.
Sources have told Football Insider qualifying for the knockout rounds could see the Scottish champions rake in just short of £48million, including the payments from the value pillar system.
That is significantly more than Rangers could earn from reaching the Europa League knockout rounds after Football Insider revealed Philippe Clement’s side would receive around £12million if they manage to make it through the group stage this season.
In other news, Celtic have had a “bust-up with broadcasters” – Expert.
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