Official UEFA release confirms stunning PSR boost Newcastle United could net as £10m prize looms
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Newcastle United latest news: The Magpies take on Barcelona in the Champions League Round of 16 on Wednesday night.
The city of Barcelona will be turned black-and-white over the next couple of days as Newcastle United make the trip to Catalonia in hope, rather than expectation, that their side can end the week as Champions League quarter-finalists.
To do that, the Magpies will have to at the very least avoid defeat at the Camp Nou on Wednesday night. Lamine Yamal’s late penalty at St James’ Park may have been a kick in the gut for Eddie Howe’s side last week, but they would have been buoyed by a very good performance at Stamford Bridge at the weekend and will head to Spain, backed by a reported 10,000 Newcastle United fans who have also made the journey, with belief that they can defy the odds.
Having been knocked out of both the Carabao Cup and FA Cup, coincidentally by Manchester City on each occasion, and mathematically out of the title race (however fanciful success there may have been), the Champions League remains the only silverware available to the Magpies this season. Whilst fans will be dreaming of a Budapest holiday in May, Newcastle United’s priority in the Champions League will be to progress as far as possible because of not only the trophy at the end of the journey, but also the immense finances available for going as deep in the competition as possible.
To illustrate this, UEFA revealed last month that PSG, last year’s winners, earned £125.73m in total prize money, with runners-up Inter Milan receiving £118.95m.
Newcastle United’s Champions League prize money haul
Recent estimates have placed Newcastle United’s current earnings from this season’s Champions League run at north of £50m, eclipsing what they earned during their previous campaign in the old format. If Newcastle United can overcome the odds to secure their most famous win in European competition on Wednesday night, then they will have guaranteed another £10.85m in prize money.
£13m would then be banked if they can defeat whoever they play in the quarter-final over two-legs. That will almost certainly be Atletico Madrid unless Tottenham Hotspur can pull off the miracle of all miracles in north London next week.
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A place in the final in Budapest on May 30 will guarantee any club just over £16m with an additional £5.6m given to the winner. Of course, dreams of playing at the Puskas Arena at the end of May are beyond even the wildest of imaginations for Newcastle United fans at this moment in time, but they will believe that if they can overcome Barcelona next week, then anything can happen as the latter stages of the competition rolls on.
In those accounts published by UEFA in February, it was revealed that Aston Villa earned £72.86m for reaching the quarter-finals of last season’s competition. Newcastle United know that will be the kind of total figure they receive if they reach the last-eight of this season’s competition by defeating Barca.
Due to having a bigger stadium than the Villans and playing an extra play-off match, Newcastle United know they will almost certainly have already earned more matchday income from their Champions League journey this season than Villa earned last year.