Judging by the budgets of the Eredivisie clubs, the upcoming matches for PSV and Feyenoord will be crucial. The Eindhoven team must ensure participation in the Champions League via Benfica, while Feyenoord hopes to reach the Conference League via the Swedish Elfsborg. At the moment, the list of budgets is largely led by Ajax, which is responsible for almost a third of the entire Eredivisie budget. The row is closed by Fortuna Sittard, which has to fear relegation to the Kitchen Champion Division with 7.5 million euros.
Partly due to the participation in the Champions League, Ajax’s budget increased by 50 million euros to 160 million euros. The Amsterdammers are therefore at a lonely height in the Netherlands and have almost double the budget of pursuer PSV, which has budgeted 85 million euros. It must be said that the Eindhoven residents have not included the possible income of the Champions League in the budget. If PSV manage to qualify for the billion-dollar ball at the expense of Benfica, this amount will rise considerably.
The budgets in the Eredivisie in the 2021/22 season
| CLUB | BUDGET | CLUB | BUDGET | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Ajax | 160 million euros | 10. Heracles Almelo | 14 million euros | |
| 2. PSV | 85 million euros | 11. William II | 13.5 million | |
| 3. Feyenoord | 65 million euros | 12. PEC Zwolle | 12.7 million euros | |
| 4. AZ | 27.5 million euros | 13. Sparta Rotterdam | 11 million euros | |
| 5. Speed | 25 million euros | 14. NEC | 10 million euros | |
| 6. FC Twente | 23 million euros | 15. Go Ahead Eagles | 8.5 million euros | |
| 7. FC Utrecht | 22.1 million euros | 16. RKC Waalwijk | 8.1 million euros | |
| 8. FC Groningen | 20 million euros | 17. SC Cambuur | 8 million euros | |
| 9. sc Heerenveen | 16 million euros | 18. Fortuna Sittard | 7.5 million euros |
Just like all other clubs that have qualified for the group stage of the Champions League, Ajax has already secured a premium of 15.64 million euros, 390,000 euros more than last year. PSV can also credit that amount if it qualifies for the group stage of the most important European tournament. If AZ qualify for the group stage of the Europa League, it is assured of 3.63 million euros. For Vitesse and Feyenoord, 2.94 million euros is available in starting money for participation in the Conference League.
Just like PSV, Feyenoord did not include a financial injection arising from European football in the budget. The team from Rotterdam currently occupies third place behind Ajax and PSV with 65 million euros. Feyenoord has a drop of three million euros compared to last year, partly as a result of the corona pandemic. Every home game without an audience cost the club 900,000 euros. For that reason, General Director Mark Koevermans begged sponsors in March to waive the compensation money to which they were officially entitled. It involved an amount of about fifteen million euros.
If Feyenoord qualify for the Conference League, the budget will be raised to more than seventy million euros. The club from Rotterdam South is still looking for a striker, but due to the current situation, it depends on opportunities. It is therefore questionable whether that new goalscorer will come. The top five is closed by AZ and Vitesse. The Alkmaarders, who are fully in the race for participation in the Europa League and face Cetic on Wednesday evening, have budgeted 27.5 million euros. Just like Feyenoord and PSV, AZ has not budgeted for European football.
In the lower regions, it will be difficult this season for Fortuna Sittard (7.5 million), SC Cambuur (8 million) and RKC Waalwijk (8.1 million). The last place for the Limburgers is remarkable, as it was expected that one of the PhD students would take that place. Go Ahead Eagles, however, is just above the line with 8.5 million euros, just like NEC (10 million). In Deventer, opportunities are being explored to expand the Adelaarshorst, with which the club hopes to become a stable Eredivisionist in the future.