FC Barcelona can easily raise over $80 million in the Champions League group phase alone.
FC Barcelona can easily raise over $80 million by doing well in their Champions League group and successfully qualifying for the knockout phase for the first time in three seasons.
Though there was a lot of hard work behind the development in winning La Liga last term and therefore being placed in Pot 1, the UCL draw in Monaco last month was kind to the Blaugrana where in past years it had been harsh.
This time round, they were drawn into Group H with Tuesday’s opposition at the Montjuic Stadium for their competition opener, Royal Antwerp, plus Porto and Shakhtar Donetsk.
With all due respect to their opposition, Barca have a strong chance of winning all six games until the end of year, which as Mundo Deportivo points out would bring in a much-needed €16.8 million ($18 million) at €2.8 million ($3 million) per victory.
This sum compliments the €15.64 million ($16.7 million) coming the Catalans’ way for merely competing in the group stage and there is also a whopping €34.11 million ($36.5 million) due for being third in a historical ranking of the past 10 years.
Though they have not gone all the way since 2015 when they beat Juventus in Berlin, Barca reached the semi-finals in 2012, 2013 and 2019 when they were topped by eventual winners Chelsea, Bayern Munich and Liverpool in those respective years.
Barca won’t even have to go as far in the competition this time round to become richer, with a last 16 showing head coach Xavi Hernandez is aiming for primarily bringing in €9.6 million ($10.2 million) more.
If Barca win all six of their group games then, their total earnings will be €76.05 million ($81.3 million) which will be greatly welcomed in an era of struggling to balance Financial Fair Play.
It could also help bring in winter signings, and make sure that Brazilian teen sensation Vitor Roque’s arrival from Athletico Paranaense happens as originally planned in January 2024.
Pulling off the feat won’t be easy, though, with Barca having only earned 18 points from six group games once in their history.
This happened in 2002/2003, when Barca looked to be one of the favourites in that edition of the tournament until they met beaten finalists Juventus in the quarter-finals who dumped them out.
The next best points tallies came in 2005-2006 and 2011-2012 when they achieved 16. As mentioned, Barca were knocked out in the semis in 2012 by Chelsea who went on to beat Bayern Munich at the Allianz on penalties for their first ever UCL crown.
In 2005/2006, however, a Ronaldinho-led outfit with a young Lionel Messi and current manager Xavi trudged on to beat Arsenal in Paris and seal the big-eared trophy for the second time in club history.
