Bayer Leverkusen entices with a massive financial gain.
If Bayer Leverkusen manages to stay undefeated in the Europa League, their treasurer will have something great to say at the end of an exceptional season: A lot of cash awaits them if they win the European Cup. Although the real big money will only come in the upcoming season.
The winning streak in the Europa League could bring German football heavyweight Bayer Leverkusen more than €40 million. Prior to tomorrow's final against Atalanta Bergamo in Dublin (9pm/RTL, RTV+ and live ticker on ntv.de), the Werkself have already secured €22.6 million in UEFA bonuses. There's also the potential for an additional €8.5 million should they win the last match in the form of a victory bonus (4), a start bonus (3.5), and a win bonus (1) for the UEFA Super Cup game.
In addition, there are shares from the market pool - Eintracht Frankfurt made around 4.5 million when they triumphed in the Europa League two years ago - and the revenue from the six home games, which is estimated at €6 million. Before the competition began, Bayer set their income expectations at approximately €15 million.
Even with the windfall from the Europa League, it'd be nice for Bayer Leverkusen to return to the Champions League next season. That's because the Champions League brings in money on a much bigger scale, and it provides financial planning security: each participant will receive €18.85 million in entry fees alone next season. UEFA paid out €2.8 million for a win in the group stage in the previous season.
FC Bayern's Champions League bonuses in the current season amounted to a total of €98.52 million after the quarter-finals. Added to this were the spectator income from six home matches and the money from the market pool, which together totaled more than €30 million. The Champions League revenue of the Bundesliga powerhouse, therefore, surpassed €100 million in this round, but they fell short against Real Madrid in the semi-finals. The finalists, Borussia Dortmund, even got more than €101 million in bonuses from UEFA alone.
So far, Bayer Leverkusen has earned €22.6 million in UEFA bonuses, which breaks down like this:
Entry fee: €3.63 million
Winning bonus for the preliminary round: €3.78 million (6 x €630,000)
Bonus for winning the group: €1.1 million
Bonus for reaching the round of 16: €1.2 million
Bonus for reaching the quarter-finals: €1.8 million
Bonus for reaching the semi-finals: €2.8 million
Bonus for reaching the final: €4.6 million
Bonus as the participant with the third-best UEFA club coefficient: €3.69 million
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Source: www.ntv.de
