Another bonus for Newcastle United, as a £10m windfall is set to be triggered.
Great news for the football club, as United look to compete on and off the pitch.
As we are all painfully aware, to compete long-term on the pitch, Newcastle United will need to be rapidly increasing their revenues off the field of play.
Of course, for NUFC, the two things are inextricably linked. With Champions League participation seen as key to this.
Eddie Howe working miracles, against all odds having secured two Champions League qualifications in the past three seasons.
The crushing 6-1 defeat of Qarabag FK on Wednesday night has now made this £10m windfall all but guaranteed.
Champions League payouts are decided in various ways, with progression in the competition one of the things triggering various payments.
Reaching the last 16 of the competition is one of those triggers and if/when Eddie Howe’s side complete the job against Qarabag FK on Tuesday, that would guarantee another €11m for Newcastle United, which at the current exchange rare is equal to just under £10m.
That is the good news.
However, the not so good news, is that the other other five English Champions League clubs are still guaranteed far more money from UEFA than Newcastle United, for reaching the same stage (last 16) of the competition.
Chris Weatherspoon is the football finance specialist at The Athletic and he reported at the end of January 2026, what the position was at that point, after the eighth round of matches in the Swiss League stage had been played:
‘With the league phase of the 2025-26 UEFA Champions League now over, an estimate of prize money earned by English clubs so far:
• Liverpool €97m (£84m)
• Man City €97m (£84m)
• Arsenal €96m (£83m)
• Chelsea €92m (£80m)
• Spurs €85m (£73m)
• Newcastle €54m (£47m)’
So even if/when that €11m extra payment is triggered on Tuesday night, that will put Newcastle United on €65m, approximately £58m.
So when it comes to guaranteed cash from UEFA for reaching the last 16, it would still mean United some £16m less than Spurs, whilst £23m+ less than Chelsea, Arsenal, Man City and Liverpool.
Whilst some of that extra cash is due to getting better results in the Swiss League stage, most of it is not.
Back in 2024, UEFA announced this was how the Champions League cash would be shared out from the central kitty for the next three seasons:
For the 2024–27 cycle, the net revenue available to participating clubs will be divided into three
different pillars:
– 27.5% will be allocated to equal shares (starting fee) (€670m)
– 37.5% will be allocated to performance-related fixed amounts (€914m)
– 35% will be allocated to the newly created value pillar (€853m)
So it was split into three pots.
No surprise that equal shares for all 36 clubs only happens in the smallest of the three pots! With 27.5% (€670m) to be allocated to equal shares.
Then 37.5% (€914m) dictated by performance-related fixed amounts.
Which leaves us with the ‘newly created value pillar’ which decides where more than a third (35%/€853m) of the cash goes.
Multiple pots – there’s a ‘value pillar’ (worth €853m across the 36 clubs) which is heavily weighted toward past performance in UEFA competition
The UEFA explanation of that Value Pillar starting…
1.1.2.3Value pillar (€853m)
The new value pillar is a combination of the former market pool (country market value) and coefficient (individual club coefficients) pillars. The value pillar comprises two parts:
– European part
– Non-European part
Like a lot of these things often are, the official explanation from UEFA is very lengthy and complicated, you are welcome to read that official Champions League Value Pillar explanation yourselves.
However, the main point is this, in my opinion.
The ‘European part’ sees the share out of cash largely dependent on your UEFA co-efficient based on the last five years.
Then for the ‘Non-European part’ UEFA explain…’The non-European part is distributed in each competition based on the ten year UEFA coefficient ranking of the 36 participating clubs.’
What it is all really about
With encouragement from the clubs that had most to benefit and also as a sop to lessen worries of another attempt at a European Super League break away, UEFA have now for some years arranged it so that the clubs who were already the richest and most powerful, would be guaranteed a larger share of the Champions League cash each season, than those trying to catch up with the richest and most powerful.
So if you have regularly played in the Champions League for the last five/ten years and had all the advantages that came with that, especially money, you will now be guaranteed more cash each future Champions League season, compared to clubs that haven’t had that benefit of past years.
There is no rhyme or reason to it, no justification (no fairness…?). In which other sports/competitions do you automatically get more cash for doing well one season, based largely on what you did previously? Even the Premier League doesn’t do this! So clubs don’t get extra cash based on how they did in the Premier League five years earlier etc.
If UEFA had any interest in encouraging more competition, then surely the opposite should happen. The clubs like say Newcastle United and Aston Villa who are trying to catch up with those who have established such financial power, surely if they qualify for the Champions League they should then get a better deal than likes of Liverpool and Man City who already have such an advantage when it comes to finances.