For Newcastle United it was heartbreak in the UEFA Champions League last week.
Needing a win over AC Milan and for Paris Saint-Germain to drop points at Borussia Dortmund, the Magpies suffered an agonising exit from European football’s elite club knockout competition as Samuel Chukwueze landed the dagger blow inside the final 10 minutes to not only deny Eddie Howe’s men safe passage through to the last 16, but also the chance to continue their European journey in the Europa League.
For a first Champions League journey in 20 years, and the first appearance in any kind of European competition since they reached the quarter-finals of the Europa League back in 2012/13, the Magpies did not disgrace themselves and had looked on course for the knockout stages and the riches they bring after the opening two games delivered a 0-0 draw against Milan at the San Siro and a 4-1 success over PSG at St James’ Park.
With the European adventure over, at least for this season, the club will be able to take stock of what was gleaned from their time in the competition from a financial perspective.
In making the top four last season and booking themselves Champions League football for 2023/24, Newcastle were, arguably, ahead of the schedule that the ownership of the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF) and those charting the course, the likes of Amanda Staveley and Yasir Al Rumayyan, had in mind.
When the financial might of the PIF acquired Newcastle in late 2021 the narrative was spun that they would spend whatever it took to ensure the Magpies took flight. In reality, while the additions of Alexander Isak, Sandro Tonali and Bruno Guimaraes all required the financial wherewithal, the spending has been reserved and it has become increasingly evident that it is a plan that will take time to come to fruition.
Champions League football this season was financially impactful for Newcastle, it delivered another layer of revenue, and of attraction to commercial partners, that means the club will have more wriggle room with regards to spending going forwards. The additional three sell-out home games also aid matters, too.
While the likes of Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea have all banked more than £100m per season from their forays deep into the competition in recent seasons, Newcastle’s lack of European football over the last decade has severely hampered their ability to maximise revenue from their appearance in this year’s competition.
Part of the prize money breakdown from the Champions League is related to UEFA coefficients, where the historical performance of clubs is ranked on a points basis over the last decade, determining just how much of the pie each club gets. Newcastle’s 2012/13 Europa League adventure didn’t count towards this year’s coefficient, according to UEFA’s own 10-year coefficient ranking, with the coefficients running for the 10 seasons between 2013/14 and 2022/23.
According to figures presented by football finance expert Swiss Ramble, Newcastle have earned €33m (£28.4m) from their Champions League adventure. A participation fee of €15.6m (£13.4m) was only added to by one win (each worth €2.8m in the Champions League) and two draws (worth €930,000 to clubs). That made for a sum of €4.9m (£4.21m).
Bumping the overall sum up for Howe’s men is the €7.9m (£6.79m) share of the TV market pool and €4.5m from the UEFA coefficient. For context, Manchester City received €22.3m (£19.17m) and €33m (£28.4m) for these, respectively.
That means that Newcastle’s Champions League adventure amounted to around €33m (£28.4m), a sum that sits just £7.2m above what Liverpool, the team that beat into the fourth and final Champions League spot last season, have earned thus far from the Europa League, demonstrating the importance of prolonged European exposure and success in maximising revenues from the biggest competition in European club football. A run to the semi-final or beyond would mean that prize money for Liverpool this season from European competition would be higher than Newcastle. That eroded away at the chance Newcastle felt they had to close the financial gap on some of their rivals.
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