Exclusive: Aston Villa could land £50m windfall - official documents reveal

Aston Villa could earn almost £50million if they manage to make it through to the knockout rounds of the Champions League this season, sources have told Football Insider.

Villa booked their place in European football’s premier club competition after securing a fourth-place finish in the Premier League last season.

The Times reported on 27 August top Champions League clubs could be in line to make an extra £23million from the competition following Uefa’s format change this season.

The number of clubs taking part has risen from 32 to 36, with the teams all competing in one single league competition and each side playing eight different opponents – four at home and four away.

Villa got their European campaign off to a perfect start when they beat Swiss champions Young Boys 3-0 in Bern last month.

Unai Emery’s side backed that up with a 1-0 victory over Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich at Villa Park on Wednesday night to boost their chances of qualifying for the knockout rounds.

The West Midlands club will face Bologna, Club Brugge, Juventus, RB Leipzig, Monaco and Celtic in their other six European encounters.

Aston Villa knockout qualification could significantly boost finances

As per official Uefa documents released in March, each team will earn a guaranteed £16million for playing in the Champions League this season.

They will then be in line for extra cash payments under the governing body’s new value pillar system, which is split into European and non-European segments based on their coefficient ranking and the market pool.

The two extra group stage games provide clubs with a chance to generate more revenue from matches, with £1.8million awarded for each win and £583,000 for a draw.

Villa could receive £9.2million for qualifying automatically for the last 16, while the clubs who finish between ninth and 24th will earn £830,000 for featuring in the knockout round play-offs.

The top eight teams will then be awarded an extra £1.7million, with those finishing between ninth and 16th handed £830,000.

In a further incentive to finish as high up the table as possible, clubs will also be paid an amount based on their individual ranking after the eight group stage games.

The bottom side will earn £229,000, while an eighth-place finish would be worth at least £6.6million.

Sources have told Football Insider finishing in the top eight spots and automatically qualifying for the knockout rounds could see Villa land around £49.5million, including the payments from the value pillar system.

That is significantly more than the £28.3million Newcastle are believed to have earned in Champions League prize money last season following their group stage exit.

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