Manchester City’s £20m carrot in Real Madrid Champions League tie
Manchester City will be playing for a potential £20m in prize money when they take on holders Real Madrid in their Champions League knockout play-off tie on Tuesday.
Pep Guardiola’s struggling side will bank an additional €10m (£8m) just for progressing from the two-legged tie against the Spanish giants and reaching the last 16.
That sum will rise to €25m (£21m) if they manage to go all the way and win their second European crown in the space of three seasons.
Manchester City have already secured €77m (£64m) in prize money from this season’s Champions League campaign, according to analysis by football finance blogger Swiss Ramble.
That is made up a flat participation fee of €18.6m (£15.5m), €13.1m (£10.9m) for their performance in the league phase, and €45.5m (£37.9m) for the so-called “value pillar”, which takes into account their recent European record and the value of the English TV rights.
Liverpool, who topped the league phase, have already made €100m (£83m), while Arsenal and Aston Villa, who also qualified directly to the last 16, have banked €91m (£76m) and €71m (£59m) respectively.
The Champions League is Manchester City’s top target, having fallen out of contention in the Premier League with a run of just five points from nine games before Christmas.
They spent a record £180m in January on players including forward Omar Marmoush and midfielder Nico Gonzalez in a bid to reverse the slump.
This is the fourth season in a row in which Manchester City have faced Real Madrid in a Champions League knockout tie. They have lost two of the previous three.
“They are a huge competitor. We know it,” said Guardiola. “We have faced many times with them and how in the tough moments they bring the best of them – we know it. Of course we have to make two good games to go through.
“The group stage, the knockout stage is always difficult. We have not done quite well in the group stage so we deserve to be where we are. The draw is the draw and [we] accept the challenge.”