Advertisement

Madrid earns 88.6M euros in Champions League prize money

Real midfielder Gareth Bale, top, duels for the ball with Plzen defender Roman Hubnik, front, and Plzen defender David Limbersky during a Group G Champions League soccer match between Real Madrid and Viktoria Plzen at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid, Spain, Tuesday Oct. 23, 2018. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

MADRID (AP) — Champions League winner Real Madrid earned 88.6 million euros ($101.2 million) in prize money from UEFA last season, while beaten finalist Liverpool pocketed 81.2 million euros ($92.7 million).

Semifinalist Roma received the second highest windfall of 83.8 million euros ($95.7 million) because it picked up a bigger share of the TV rights money.

A year ago, runner-up Juventus topped the list with 110.4 million euros (then $130.4 million). Quarterfinalist Leicester picked up almost 81.7 million euros (then $96.5 million) and champion Madrid earned 81 million euros (then $95.7 million).

Organizer UEFA awarded a basic 12.7 million euros ($14.5 million) to each of the 32 teams that reached the Champions League group stage in each of the last two seasons, plus bonuses for results and a share of the TV rights money.

Of the group-stage clubs, Qarabag's 16.8 million euros ($19.2 million) was the lowest share of the almost 1.4 billion euros ($1.6 billion) available in the prize fund.

A complex formula gives teams a share of broadcast deals covering their home country and allows domestic champions to earn more than second to fourth-place sides.

___

More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/tag/apf-Soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports