Celtic can send shockwaves throughout Europe if they mastermind a seismic Champions League upset against Bayern Munich tonight.
And a massive cash bonanza lies in store if the Hoops can somehow overcome the Bundesliga leaders across both legs. Vincent Kompany’s superstars are in Glasgow for the blockbuster knockout playoff as Harry Kane and co prepare to experience the white-hot Parkhead cauldron. The German powerhouses are heavy favourites to progress into the last 16 as they set their sights on a seventh top European crown.
But Munich’s ropey away form has given the green-and-white faithful a glimmer of hope that Brendan Rodgers can guide the Scottish champions to one of the most famous nights in the club’s history. The Bavarians have endured a turbulent European adventure so far, finishing 12th in the revamped league phase but losing three of their four matches on the road. They now come up against a Celts team who have been formidable at home, collecting 10 of their 12 points at Celtic Park.
And having already raked in a fortune from this season’s new-look format, another eye-watering jackpot could be on the way if the Hoops progress into the round of 16. Here, Record Sport crunches the numbers.
How much prize money Celtic will receive if they KO Bayern Munich
UEFA have already paid Celtic a cool £843,000 just for finishing in the top 24 and making the playoffs. But if the Scottish champions progress further and reach the last 16, it would see them bank an eye-watering £9.3million in prize money. It means if Celts can overcome Munich on aggregate, they will bank a total of £10.1m – and that doesn’t even include gate receipts.
How much prize money Celtic have already earned
It’s already been a hugely successful Champions League campaign for the Glasgow giants, who have reached the knockouts of Europe’s top competition for the first time since 2012. Before a ball was kicked, Celtic had already pocketed a whopping £15.7m just from qualifying.
As a result of beating Slovan Bratislava, RB Leipzig and Young Boys, the coffers swelled even further to the tune of £5.31m, with draws against Atalanta, Dinamo Zagreb and Club Brugge adding another £1.77m to the pot – a total of £7.08m. This is because UEFA rewards clubs with £1.8m for each league phase win and £589,868 for each draw in the league phase.
The Treble-chasers will also be due another sizeable windfall from the European governing body – around £3.4m, to be precise after securing a 21st-place finish in the table – taking their overall total so far for this year’s competition to a very tidy£26.23m. Again, this doesn’t factor ticket sales, with Parkhead packed to the rafters for every home game.
Champions League prize money
- Winner: £21m
- Runner-up: £15.6m
- Semi-finalists: £12.6m
- Quarter-finalists: £10.5m
- Round of 16: £9.3m
- Reaching knockout round playoff: £843k
- League-phase wins: £1.77m
- League-phase draws: £590k