Manchester City to suffer £26 million blow after UEFA Champions League exit to Real Madrid | OneFootball

Etihad Stadium officials will see a significant blow to their revenues secured through UEFA Champions League competition from Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City side.

The reigning Premier League champions crashed out of Europe’s premier club competition at the last-16 play-off stage after a sour experience in the league phase format of a revamped version of the tournament.

Defeats to the likes of Sporting CP, Paris Saint-Germain, and Juventus alongside other points dropped in the initial phase of the tournament meant that City would finish in 22nd position leading to a two-legged play-off affair with Real Madrid.

And while the first-leg brought promise through Erling Haaland’s brace, a late comeback, eventual 2-3 win for Real Madrid in the final moments, and a crushing 3-0 loss at the Santiago Bernabeu forced City out of the competition before the last-16 for the first time since 2012/13.

Manchester City and particularly Pep Guardiola have spoken about the importance of the UEFA Champions League from a financial perspective, and the early exit from this season’s competition has further highlighted an impact on the club.

According to The Athletic’s Sam Lee, Manchester City’s Champions League exit to Real Madrid this week now means that the club will receive around £26 million less from UEFA than they did for reaching last season’s quarter-final stage.

It is pointed out that Manchester City earned around £90 million from UEFA last season, including around £3.3 million for winning the Super Cup in 2023, but it is now estimated that they will earn around £64 million from this season’s group stage and play-off round.

The defeat in the Spanish capital now also leaves Manchester City with just one other opportunity to win silverware in the regular season, as they take on Plymouth Argyle in the fifth round of the FA Cup.

Pep Guardiola and his players still have plenty of work to do in the Premier League, as they go in search of a top-four finish to secure qualification for next season’s Champions League with competition from the likes of Chelsea, Bournemouth, Nottingham Forest, and Newcastle.

The summer also brings the controversial arrival of the FIFA Club World Cup, when the financial benefits of the tournament will no doubt weigh above the additional strains placed on players through the lack of a summer break.