West Ham on course for ‘massive’ near-£120m jackpot – Maguire
West Ham players will pocket £10million if they finish in the top-four — but Champions League football could earn the club nearly £120m.
That is according to finance guru and new Football Insider columnist Kieran Maguire, speaking exclusively after The Athletic revealed news of the £400,000-per-man incentive.
West Ham validated their Champions League credentials with a 2-1 win over London rivals Spurs on Sunday as excitement among the fanbase reaches fever pitch.
David Moyes’ high-flying Hammers now sit in 4th place with a two-point cushion on Chelsea in 5th and are on track for their best top-flight finish since 1986.
Maguire acknowledges that £10m is a sizable bonus but claims it is dwarfed by the riches that Champions League football would bring West Ham.
He told Football Insider correspondent Adam Williams: “It is big by West Ham’s standards but if you get to the group stages of the Champions League, you’re looking at a bare minimum of £40m.
“If you then get into the knockout phase, you can almost treble that. That’s purely from prize money. That figure ignores matchday income, which is a massive factor.
“If they do get into the Champions League, if you’ve got 60,000 people there paying £40 each, that’s a lot of money. You get €2.7m for every win in the Champions League group stage, so two or three wins plus the £40m for just getting there and the money starts to pile up.
“It’s a relatively low bonus but having said that, £10m split between 25 players is £400,000-a-pop. For you or I, that’s a good night out.”
The next month could be pivotal for West Ham as they chase European qualification.
A trip to the Etihad to face Manchester City looms on Saturday before difficult fixtures against Leeds, Manchester United and Arsenal in March.
In other news, a top pundit has tipped overachieving West Ham to soon come crashing back to reality.