Celtic’s 5-1 defeat to LASK has cost the club an estimated £25 million in Champions League revenue, forcing them into the Europa League with significantly reduced prize money and broadcast income.
Celtic are facing a potential loss of around £25million following their exit from the Champions League.
The Scottish champions have an opportunity to claw back some of those losses with a solid Europa League campaign, though they fell short of reaching the last 16 of that competition last season.
Here, we break down the financial impact of their 5-1 defeat by LASK .
Entry fee
Champions League qualification carries a flat fee of £15.9m, compared with the Europa League entry fee of £3.7m. Celtic will also pocket a similar sum for taking part in the Champions League play-offs, leaving them roughly £8.5m worse off from the outset.
Performance bonuses
Generally speaking, Champions League teams have access to around four-and-a-half times more performance-related payments than their Europa League counterparts. A Champions League victory is worth £1.8m, while a draw brings in £600,000.
The corresponding figures in the Europa League stand at approximately £390,000 and £130,000. There is a difference of 300,000 euros per place above the bottom in the table.
Celtic finished 21st in their respective tables across the past two seasons, in both the Champions League and Europa League. Based on recent performances and another 21st-placed finish, the Hoops are looking at missing out on roughly £5m in results bonuses and £4m in league-table bonuses.
Celtic have been eliminated by German opposition in the knockout round play-offs for the past two consecutive seasons. The gap in bonuses for reaching that stage amounts to approximately £600,000.
In total, Celtic could realistically forfeit around £10m in performance-related income, though they have the opportunity to claw back some of that shortfall with a strong showing in the Europa League.
Broadcasting and ranking income
Once again, the Champions League offers four-and-a-half times the pool of money available than the Europa League. Income is determined by the country’s broadcasting value, the number of clubs competing from each nation, and clubs’ recent European performances.
Each place above the bottom in the Champions League is worth £830,000 more than the Europa League. However, Celtic will be higher up the table in the Europa League than the Champions League, and the gap from the previous two campaigns was only around £2million less in the lower competition.
Gate receipts
Celtic charged £44 more for an adult four-match Champions League package two years ago than they did for the subsequent Europa League campaign. The disparity in hospitality packages was even more pronounced.
The overall difference across the stadium would amount to approximately £3.3m, based on another five-game campaign.
Conclusion
Based on performances over the past two years, Celtic stand to lose out on close to £25m following Tuesday’s defeat, and they have also missed the opportunity to unlock further financial rewards. The difference in reaching the last 16 in each competition is more than £8m.
However, there’s potential to narrow the deficit with a successful Europa League run. When they were knocked out by Basel in the Champions League play-offs under Martin O’Neill 24 years ago, they progressed all the way to the UEFA Cup final.
Reaching the Europa League final is worth approximately £6m this season, while additional matchday revenue from another extended campaign would add up.
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