With the victory over Sporting Portugal (4-2) Ajax has once again assured itself of a cartload of income on Tuesday evening. Erik ten Hag’s team has experienced a flawless Champions League campaign to date and was the first Dutch club ever to win all six group matches. Due to the performance of the team from Amsterdam, the income of this Champions League season already amounts to 69.5 million euros.
All participants in the Champions League receive a starting premium of 15.6 million euros for participating in the main tournament. However, because of UEFA’s coefficient ranking with old and recent performances in Europe, Ajax is entitled to an additional twenty million euros. The duel with Sporting was only good for a number of millions and records for the Ten Hag team, as the reigning national champion already secured participation in the next round with the victory over Besiktas (1-2) two weeks ago. That performance already earned the club 9.6 million euros. An amount equal to the budget of NEC.
Looking at the income arising from the number of victories, the counter stands at 16.8 million euros. Each victory in the Champions League brings in an amount of 2.8 million euros. With double victories over Sporting Portugal, Borussia Dortmund and Besiktas, the total comes to 16.8 million euros. In addition, Ajax is estimated to receive around three million euros from the market pool with television rights to the Champions League. The Champions League millions are particularly convenient for Ajax, as the club suffered a loss of more than eight million euros due to the corona pandemic.
Only blemish are the receipts. To date, these amount to four million euros, but would have been a lot higher if Ajax had played against Sporting Portugal in a full Johan Cruijff ArenA. In the new calendar year, if Ajax continues the season in the Champions League, another big blow can be made in terms of filling the treasury. Reaching the quarterfinals is a bonus of 10.6 million euros, the semifinals 12.5 million, the final 15.5 million and a win brings another 4.5 million. The draw for the eighth finals will take place on Monday 13 December.