The Champions League: Glitz, Glory, And ONE BILLION EUROS!

We all remember that fateful day in Munich just three years ago. The hero Drogba smashing home from the spot to secure his legend and bring the Blues their first ever Champions League trophy.

For the fans it was celebrations long into the night. For the players it was too. But for the board and Roman Abramovich it meant so much more. Because the money surrounding the Champions League is worth a staggering €1billion.

When Drogba buried that spot kick, in front of a home crowd at the Allianz, he netted Chelsea almost €60million in prize money alone, and with attendance figures, sponsorships, and much more on top, it makes for a breath-taking amount.

This year will of course be no different, in fact it’s set to be the most lucrative yet. An interactive guide by Billioneurofootballgame.com has estimated the money surrounding this year’s match in Berlin is worth €1billion in total, taking into account all the above figures as well as what it will bring into the German capital when Juventus and Barcelona walk out at the Olympiastadion.

The city is expected to earn almost €36million from fans coming in for the game, with the cities of Turin and Barcelona earning a cool €5.4million each from travelling fans, a figure which the city of London would have sure liked Mourinho’s men to go a few rounds deeper into the tournament.

That’s on top of the two clubs making huge amounts from ticket sales, with each team keeping all the spoils from their home ties. Barcelona have added an estimated €63.7million to the coffers by filling the Nou Camp through to the semi-finals, and it all adds up, particularly with Financial Fair Play really becoming stringent.

GianlucaVialli believes they will next term, and with the Champions League prize money and market pool increasing next year, the Blues could be on the end of record breaking riches.

Should Barcelona pick up the trophy for the fifth time in their history they’ll bag around €57.4million from UEFA. Should Chelsea, or for that matter any English club match that feat next year €100million will be added to their bank balance, and that’s not even including ticket money.

Financially, that will be huge for Chelsea, particularly with them earning £99million from their Premier League title success this season.

For now however, we’ll be enjoying this year’s final. It’s hard to imagine a world where we don’t have Champions League football at the Bridge now. And we should count our blessings that we have the likes of Fabregas, Costa, and JT to compete in the game which is worth one billion euros.

Here’s to next season…