Who has won the most Champions League prize money? Full breakdown of club winnings since 1992 per Italy’s Gazzetta dello Sport

The Champions League is one of the most lucrative soccer competitions on the planet, and as a result, participation in Europe’s premiere club competition is a financial boon for clubs.

Champions League qualification is imperative for clubs looking to either grow into powers amongst their domestic league or maintain a wage bill to compete with other powers.

Prize money is one of the means the competition distributes wealth amongst its participants, with performance in the competition directly linked to money earned. 

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This season alone, the Champions League will distribute €2 billion ($2.27 billion) amongst its participants in prize money, with another €700 million ($795 million) spread across the Europa League and Europa Conference League. That pool is said to be set for a further increase down the road, with a massive €4.41 billion ($5.01 billion) prize purse reportedly to be handed out starting in 2024.

Who has won the most Champions League prize money?

Bayern Munich and Real Madrid top the table as the only clubs to have collected more than a billion euros in prize money from the Champions League. The two clubs have collected 10 Champions League titles since 1992.

Third is Barcelona who is out of this year’s edition of the competition after a group stage elimination, while Juventus sits fourth after its 10-year domination of the Italian league saw the club consistently participate.

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The top English club is Chelsea, with the fifth-most prize money collected after last year’s title, while four other English clubs make the list. Arsenal makes the list despite not having entered the competition for five consecutive seasons.

The table below lists the top 10 clubs in Champions League prize money since the inception of the modern version of the tournament in 1992. The list, sourced from Italian publication Gazzetta dello Sport, does not include prize money already secured by clubs in the 2021-22 competition.

Prize money is listed in Euros due to the length of time in which prize money has been awarded across, which makes commutation of equal values in US dollars or other currencies challenging.

Source