Man City dealt £20m financial reality as Champions League impact laid bare

Manchester City avoided a calamitous exit from the Champions League with their second half comeback vs Club Brugge.

Their League Phase campaign has been far from straightforward, with three defeats and two draws leaving City needing to win on the last game to claw their way into the knockout stages.

Real Madrid or Bayern Munich await. City can now calculate their prize money following the conclusion of the League Phase. The win over Brugge was important for qualification, but also for City's bank account, with money earned for each win and each finishing position in the Champions League table.

Their 22nd-placed finish earns £3.8m for City's overall prize pot, as well as £6.3m for their three wins and two draws from the eight games. Add in £840,000 for reaching the play-off round, and City banked £10.9m from their League Phase campaign.

They also took a guaranteed £15.57m for reaching the League Phase, taking their total earnings to £26.51m. They will be entitled to a share of the TV broadcast pot.

But City will know they could have earned millions more. For example, an eighth-placed finish is worth £16m in prize money for results and final position, plus a further £9m for direct qualification to the last-16.

And a 100 per cent record to finish top would have been worth £22m, plus the £9m for reaching the last-16 without need for a play-off. That means City missed out on around £20m in prize money from the maximum possible, even if around half of that can still be claimed if they can reach the last-16 through the play-offs.

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