Milan, how much does the Europa League cost you: it would be worth a third of the Champions League

Europa League nightmare. For prestige, obviously, but also for finances. For the majority of Rossoneri fans it is now something inevitable, given the average points held by Milan in the championship so far (1.64). Conceiçao legitimately does not give up - a verb that does not appear in his dictionary - and continues to talk about the Champions League, which however is an objectively difficult goal, especially without the assistance - as the UEFA ranking at the moment tells us - of fifth place. So, if Milan 2025-26 were to really settle for the Europa League, what would change for the club in economic terms? A lot, obviously.

We can start with a generic figure, which already gives a good idea of ​​the gap between the first and second continental competition. The UEFA prize money – divided into participation fees, results and market pool – allocated overall to the current edition of the Champions League (and which will be valid for three years) amounts to 2.47 billion euros. We are talking about almost 500 million more than the previous cup. The Europa League has been allocated 565 million, still 100 more than the previous three years, but a drastically lower figure than its richer sister. The good news is that Milan, thanks to very prudent financial management by Elliott and RedBird, has sorted out the accounts, returning to a plus sign that has not been seen for seventeen years. So, in itself, finding themselves in the Europa League would not have any particular repercussions on the finances. If anything, it would have a cascade effect on future developments precisely because participating in the Europa League would bring in much lower revenues.

Specifically, the Devil said goodbye to this Champions League by taking home around 60 million in UEFA prize money, to which the box office revenue must be added. This year, the Rossoneri club has decided not to communicate the revenue, but for the five home games, we can think about at least 25 million. That means almost 90 million, and we are talking about a premature elimination. Going into detail about the UEFA prize money: 18.62 million for participation; 2.1 for each victory in the championship phase and 700 thousand euros for a draw; bonuses based on the position in the standings: they range from 275 thousand euros for the 36th-placed team to around 10 for the first. And then: 11 million for those who qualify for the round of 16; 12.5 for the quarter-finals; 15 for the semi-finals; 18.5 for the final; 6.5 more for those who lift the cup. The same items declined in EuroLeague show a huge gap: 4.31 million for participation; 450 thousand euros for each victory in the championship phase and 150 thousand for a draw; bonuses based on the ranking: 600 thousand euros for the first eight, 300 thousand from ninth to 24th place. And then: 1.75 million for those who qualify for the round of 16; 2.5 for the quarterfinals; 4.2 for the semifinals; 7 for the final; 6 more for those who lift the cup. Doing some rough calculations, if Milan hypothetically had followed the same path as in the Champions League in this Europa League, therefore exiting in the playoffs, instead of 60 million in UEFA prizes they would have taken home more or less twenty. A difference that would obviously also be found at the box office, where the average prices for the EuroLeague would be decidedly lower than for home matches in the Champions League. Hazarding a scenario: the approximately 25 million of the Champions stadium takings would have become more or less ten. Total: 85 million against 30.