UEFA Champions League 2024/25 Final: Race To Glory
UEFA Champions League 2024/25 season is in its last lap. Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and Inter Milan are gearing up for the final race to glory. While Luis Enrique led PSG are looking to bag a ‘treble’ after already clinching the domestic league and Coupe de France titles, Inter Milan is looking to avenge their last day domestic title loss to Napoli by a solitary point. The reason and goal for each team is humungous and there couldn’t have been a better finale stage.
2024/25 marked the beginning of the new format of UEFA Champions League (UCL) which was met with many skepticisms when announced. But it seems to have made it’s point with regards aiding the club revenue growth. Although, there will always be criticisms and feedbacks, at least two things have definitely emerged out of the new format:
- Significant increase in revenue for each participating club.
- The fight for a Champions League spot was fought viciously in the domestic league.
The system needed to change. One, it was very monotonous and predictable and two, Super League looming around, UEFA drastically needed to do something to get the interest back in UCL. They seem to have succeeded, at least in monetary terms.
In this blog, we discuss about the growth in revenue to the final stage and take a look at the finalists.
The Prize Money Payouts
A significant increase in revenue is a big change in the new UCL format. The distributed amount will be increased from €2 billion to €2.5 billion. The base for whole distribution is divided into two parts, ‘prize money’ comprising of participation and performance ranking and ‘value pillar’, based on TV pool and UEFA coefficient.
As Swiss Ramble puts it, the ratio of distribution has shifted from the earlier versions. Prize money share used to 55% has now been increased to 65% while value pillar share, earlier being 45% is now reduced to 35%. The revised prize money distribution chart is attached.
The interesting thing is English clubs would receive an additional lump sum based on the value of their TV market and previous history in European competition. So much so that had an English club won, it could have earned upto €155mn/£133mn. Compare it to the 22/23 winners Manchester City receiving £117mn, it would have been a cool 15% more!
This has definitely led to a potentially more competitive domestic league by all accounts.
Who Gets How Much?
List of payouts to the participating clubs for the 2024/25 till the final stage, calculated based on the value pillar and performance criteria, available online, made by various platforms suggest that the two finalists are estimatedly set to receive upwards of €135mn each. That’s more than what the winners earned last season. There’s still the prize money for finalists and winner’s cheque to add.
As the distribution payout list,
- 7 quarter-finalists except Aston Villa are set to earn upwards of €100mn, while Aston Villa earns about €83mn. To put in contest, that’s almost 27% of Villa’s 23/24 total revenue.
- 17 teams earn between €50mn – €100mn and 12 teams earn between €20mn – €40mn.
- The new payout system also has done wonders for many clubs with at least 7 clubs set to earn more than 50% of their 23/24 revenue. Some clubs like Club Brugge earning approximately €62mn which is almost 92% of their 23/24 revenue, at €69mn. Similarly for Brest, who did quite good and finished 18th in the money table earning about €52mn, that is about 82% of their €64mn 23/24 revenue.
PSG vs Inter Milan
The 24/25 UCL finalists, PSG and Inter Milan have a lot to fight for as mentioned earlier. Last and incidentally, time a French club won Champions League was in 1993 when Marseille defeated AC Milan. Getting over the 32-year wait for the most prestigious European club trophy could be an added incentive for PSG too.
For Inter, 24/25 season mood has changed drastically. At one point, they were looking for at least a treble domestically which unfortunately turned into being runners-up in all the three domestic competitions. Redemption is around the corner in the form of Champions League final and they have every reason to go all out for it
Although both the finalists feature in the Deloitte Money League’s 20 highest revenue generating clubs, a head-to-head comparison between the two shows the variance in total revenue, especially commercial revenue elements. In terms of kit sponsors, in the Nike vs Nike battle, it’s brand Nike who wins handsomely!
Both of the clubs are a part of the multi-club ownership network and have an US-based private equity background. While Inter is wholly owned by the Oaktree Capital, a PE investment fund, PSG is partially owned by Arctos Partners who has a 12.5% stake but majorly owned by the Qatar sovereign investment fund. It is an interesting battle of geopolitical economy considering how close Qatar establishment is with France in economic terms.
Champions League Final Economic Impact
The 2024/25 Champions League final is set in Munich, a city no stranger to large scale events. Recent concerts by pop icons such as Adele and Taylor Swift gave a huge boost to the local economy led to major spikes in local spending. As per Europe-Data,
- Adele’s performances in August 2024 led to a 57% rise in hotel revenue
- Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour in July drove a 43% year-on-year increase in accommodation sales.
The Munich final is set to give a significant upliftment to the local economy if past trends are to be considered. The Europe-Data report furthers states, Euro 2024 final in Berlin saw restaurant and bar sales within a three kilometre radius of the venue rise 130%, with foreign spend soaring 2,170% compared to a standard weekend.
Further trends in Istanbul 2022/23 according to General Manager of Garanti BBVA Payment Systems showed:
- Cardholders shop approximately 3.5 times more at team-affiliated stores compared to regular days.
- Fans stayed an average of three nights in the host cities.
- Spent an average of 855 euros per person on the card.
- Amount of card spending of tourists in host cities increased by 54% compared to the previous weekend and 41% compared to the following weekend.
- Accommodation, food, clothing and health sectors are at the top of the sectors where tourists spend the most.
In Conclusion
All indications so far point to a very exciting end to the 2024/25 Champions League, a fitting finale to the newly formulated and revamped format system of UEFA’s competition. Expecting a tough contest between the two well-balanced teams on ground, we can only say – may the best team win!
