Liverpool FC: Reds handed €35 million cash boost despite underachievement

Such is the financial importance of the Uefa Champions League to Europe's elite soccer clubs that even underachievement in the competition is richly rewarded, according to a study commissioned by MasterCard.

Liverpool, the English soccer club that won just two games in the competition this season before being eliminated, secured €9.1 million in prize money alone. The team, managed by Rafa Benitez, beat Debrecen both at Anfield and away from home, but managed just one point from four games against Lyon and Fiorentina. Liverpool failed to score more than one goal in a single game, with talismanic stars Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres not recording a single goal in the competition.

Despite that, the boost to Liverpool's bank balance from the competition is considerable. Uefa awards €3.8 million to each team that qualifies for the Champions League, plus €3.3 million for participating in the group stage. A group stage win was worth €800,000 per game, or €400,000 for a draw. Should Liverpool have qualified for the knock-out stages, the club would have netted an instant €3 million prize payment.

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The team, which has also struggled in the Premier League, has benefited to far more than the tune of €9.1 million. Uefa will make additional payments to group stage teams dependent on the commercial success of the tournament, which the MasterCard-commissioned report suggests could amount to approximately €12 million per club. The study reports that ticket revenues have generated an average of €8.55 million in income from the group stage, with commercial and marketing revenues accounting for a further €6 million on average.

All in all, it would be a surprise if Liverpool failed to collect €35 million from participation in this season's competition - an amount that underlines the genuine financial threat facing the club if it fails to qualify for the competition next year. Liverpool must finish in the top four of the Premier League to qualify; the Reds currently sit eighth, eight points behind fourth-place Aston Villa and 14 points away from league leaders Chelsea.