If money does not bring happiness, it would still contribute a lot to that of the Mastiffs, beyond the simple sporting aspect. LOSC is playing its European future this Wednesday, in Germany, on the lawn of VfL Wolfsburg. Jocelyn Gourvennec's men only need a draw to validate their ticket to the round of 16 of the prestigious Champions League. Prestigious and expensive. The simple fact of having qualified for the group stage released at least 15.6 M € for each club, as specified by UEFA on its website. To this must be added a bonus according to the UEFA coefficient, calculated "
on the basis of the performance of clubs over the last ten years.
"In European competitions, specifies the authority.
In this game, Lille is the ... 31st club out of 32. It therefore only touches € 2.2 million more, while PSG, the 7th club, touches € 30 million.
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Champions League fixtures and results
Champions League standings
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UEFA therefore knows how to reward the teams present, and even more those who win. Thus, winning a match in the group stage makes it possible to pocket an additional € 2.8 million, while a draw is valued at € 930,000. With two wins, two draws and one defeat so far, LOSC would have already won more than € 25 million thanks to the Champions League. To this must be added the receipts from match days at the Pierre-Mauroy stadium, which can vary between 1 and 2 M €. The total income has thus far been around € 30m, more than the price of Lille star striker Jonathan David recruited in the summer of 2020 for € 27m. And the best is perhaps yet to come: qualifying for the round of 16 would add € 9.6 million to Lille's pockets. This match in Wolfsburg is therefore worth almost € 14 million, and can bring the total to over € 44 million.
Lille has already won 55 M € thanks to the Champions League
Finally, there is the amount collected via TV rights, estimated at € 93 million in France for the 2021-22 season.
UEFA emphasizes that half of this sum is automatically shared in each country, regardless of the performance.
Lille, reigning champion, thus receives a share of the pie of 55%, against 45% for PSG, which corresponds to 25 M € more in the Lille bank.
The other half of the total TV rights depends on the number of matches the team will play in the competition.
In any case, Lille is guaranteed to win, already, 55 M €, and would approach 70 M € in the event of victory this Wednesday evening.
From an economic point of view, it is clearly better to play the C1 than its little sister, the Europa League, where the LOSC would be transferred in the event of defeat in Wolfsburg.
Indeed, Lille would then have a round-trip barrage to play to reach the knockout stages of C3.
The qualification would bring in 1.2 M €, then 1.8 M € for the quarter-finals, and 2.8 M € for the semi-finals.
Nothing to do with the Champions League, where a club receives € 10.6 million for a quarter-final, then € 12.5 million for reaching the last four.
Of course, who says bonus for the club means bonus for the players.
If the competitive spirit were to be lacking in the northern locker room, the financial dimension would have something to motivate him.
