Al via le Coppe europee, i club italiani puntano a 450 milioni di ricavi

On the afternoon of August 27th, the urn in Monte Carlo will determine the adversaries of Inter, Roma, Napoli and Como in the Champions League. Milan and Juventus will have to wait until August 28th to know who they will face in the Europa League (Atalanta will contest the Conference access to Hapoel Tel Aviv tonight). Participation in European Cups has become essential for the budget balance of Italian clubs.

The economic rewards assigned by UEFA, which vary according to sporting performance, now represent between 15 and 20% of the Serie A turnover, a sum estimated at least at 450 million euros, including earnings from home games. For the 2026/27 season, the total expected revenues from UEFA for the Champions League, Europa League, Conference and Super Cup approach 4.4 billion euros.

Deducting organizational costs, solidarity and other reserves, participating clubs will receive more than 3.3 billion. The largest portion is destined for the Champions League (2.47 billion). The distribution system follows three principles. The first is the participation bonus (27.5% of the prize pool): 18.6 million for each of the 36 clubs in the Champions League.

The second is represented by bonuses linked to wins (2.1 million per match) and draws (700,000 euros), position in the standings of the group stage and progression in direct knockout rounds (914 million in total, equivalent to 37.5%). The third component is the so-called "value pillar", which incorporates the value of domestic TV market and the club ranking for totals 853 million (35%).

Based on this last criterion, Inter should already have around 56 million, Roma just under 50, Napoli 43 and Como about 35. Generally, assuming disappointing paths and no qualification to the direct elimination stage, the four Italians in the Champions League could pocket just under 190 million. To these would be added between 30 and 35 million from the participation of Juventus and Milan in the Europa League (here the base prize is 4.3 million).

The total would therefore exceed 215 million. In the previous edition of the Champions League, not particularly exalting for Italy, total revenues reached 250 million (Inter 71 million, Atalanta, the best eliminated in the octaves, 70 million, Juventus 64 million and Napoli 48 million). In a more realistic intermediate scenario, with a performance of the teams in line with their technical level, considering some wins in the group stage, the passage to at least the quarter-finals or finals for the more competitive clubs, the prizes distributed by UEFA to the six Italian clubs could range between 300 and 360 million.

In this hypothetical scenario, Inter could approach 90 million, Roma and Napoli would sit between 65 and 80, while Juventus and Milan could exceed 25 million each. Finally, a positive scenario, for example with an Inter capable of reaching semi-finals or final, accompanied by at least two Italian clubs in the octaves of the Champions League and a finalist in the Europa League, the haul would rise to 400-450 million.

In this case, Inter alone could approach 120 million. Additionally, the income from home games in the group stage stage to each of the six teams can bring revenues between 15 and 20 million for clubs with larger stadiums and over 100 million in total.