Football & business

European competitions: Italian clubs are aiming for 450 million in revenue

The total prize money awarded by UEFA for the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League accounts for between 15 and 20 per cent of Serie A’s turnover

by Marco Bellinazzo

27 August 2026

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Champions League 2025/2026 play off partita di ritorno Inter-Bodo Glimt 1-2 nella foto Nicolo Barella Italy Photo Press

3' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

3' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

On the afternoon of 27 August, the draw in Monte Carlo will determine the opponents for Inter, Roma, Napoli and Como in the Champions League. Milan and Juventus will have to wait until 28 August to find out who they will face in the Europa League (tonight, meanwhile, Atalanta will battle it out with Hapoel Tel Aviv for a place in the Conference League).

Participation in European competitions has become essential for the financial stability of Italian clubs. The prize money awarded by UEFA, which varies according to sporting performance, now accounts for between 15 and 20 per cent of Serie A’s turnover – a sum estimated at at least 450 million euros, including revenue from home matches.

Expected revenue

For the 2026/27 season, UEFA’s projected gross revenue from the Champions League, Europa League, Conference League and Super Cup is close to 4.4 billion. After deducting organisational costs, solidarity payments and other provisions, over 3.3 billion will be distributed to the participating clubs. The largest share remains that allocated to the Champions League (2.47 billion). The Europa League has a prize fund of 565 million and the Conference League 285 million.

Champions League, oggi il sorteggio con Inter, Napoli, Roma e Como

The distribution system is based on three criteria. The first is the participation bonus (27.5 per cent of the prize fund): 18.6 million for each of the 36 Champions League clubs. The second consists of bonuses linked to wins (2.1 million per match) and draws (700,000 euros), league position in the group stage and progression through the knockout rounds (a total of 914 million, accounting for 37.5 per cent). The third component is the so-called ‘value pillar’, which incorporates the value of the national TV market and the club’s ranking, totalling 853 million (35 per cent). Based on this last criterion, Inter should therefore already have around 56 million in the bag, Roma just under 50, Napoli 43 and Como around 35.

Three scenarios

In general, therefore, assuming disappointing campaigns and failure to qualify for the knockout stages, the four Italian clubs in the Champions League could earn just under 190 million. Added to this would be between 30 and 35 million from Juventus and Milan’s participation in the Europa League (where the base prize is 4.3 million). The total would thus exceed 215 million.

In the last edition of the Champions League – which was certainly not a thrilling one for Italia – total revenue reached 250 million (Inter 71 million, Atalanta – the best-performing team to be knocked out in the round of 16 – 70 million, Juventus 64 million and Napoli 48 million).

In a more realistic, intermediate scenario, with teams performing in line with their technical ability and securing a few wins in the group stage, the most competitive clubs would at least reach the play-offs or the round of 16; the revenue distributed by UEFA to the six Italian clubs could range between 300 and 360 million. In this hypothetical scenario, Inter would come close to 90 million, Roma and Napoli would be in the region of 65 to 80 million, whilst Juventus and Milan could each exceed 25 million.

Finally, in a best-case scenario – for example, if Inter were to reach the semi-finals or the final, alongside at least two other Italian clubs in the Champions League round of 16 and an Italian side reaching the Europa League final – the total revenue would rise to 400–450 million. In this case, Inter alone could approach 120 million.

Ticket takings

On top of this revenue come the takings from the stadium. The four guaranteed home matches in the group stage for each of the six teams alone could generate revenue of between 15 and 20 million for clubs with larger-capacity stadiums, and a total of over 100 million.