Olympiacos and AEK earn big bucks from previous European campaign
Olympiacos and AEK earn big bucks from previous European campaign
In the 2017/2018 campaign, both Olympiacos and AEK Athens earned plenty of money as a result of their participation in UEFA competitions, receiving a combined total of 40 million euros.
Last season, Piraeus giants Olympiacos endured a nightmare UEFA Champions League campaign, finishing bottom of an admittedly tough group with Barcelona, Juventus and Sporting Lisbon after defeating Partizan Belgrade and Rijeka in the qualifying rounds. However, despite the Erythrolefkoi’s struggles in the competition, the Greeks received a tasty lump sum of €31,072,000 from UEFA for their participation in the tournament.
Two million was granted for the success in the playoffs, 12,7 million was awarded for competing in the group stages, 15,8 million came from the market pool, and 500 thousand was given as a performance bonus. Overall, UEFA parted with a huge 1,412 billion euros in prize money for Champions League clubs!
In the UEFA Europa League, reigning Greek champions AEK were handed €9,224,270 for their impressive campaign in the 2017/2018 edition of the tournament, as the Kitrinomavri reached the Last 32 stage.
AEK initially began their previous European season in the UEFA Champions League, but after losing to CSKA Moscow in the third qualifying round, the Athenians dropped into the Europa League and qualified for the group stage with a victory over Club Brugge in the playoffs. In the ensuing group phase, AEK managed to go unbeaten in a group against AC Milan, Austria Vienna and Rijeka, making the Last 32 where they lost to Ukrainian giants Dynamo Kyiv on away goals.
The Enosi received 4,816,270 from the market pool, 2,600,000 was given as a participation bonus, 1,308,000 was earned from the group stage, and 500,000 arrived from playing in the Last 32.
Interestingly, Olympiacos, PAOK, Panionios, AEK, Panathinaikos, Atromitos and Panetolikos all received money for having players of their respective clubs participate at the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. In December, 1.4 million dollars from FIFA will be shared out among the seven Greek teams, with Olympiacos awarded the largest amount:
Olympiacos: $488,000
PAOK: $262,000
Panionios: $191,000
AEK: $154,000
Panathinaikos: $137,000
Atromitos: $133,000
Panetolikos: $38,000
by Shaun Nicolaides
Image Source: sdna.gr
Thank you for visiting AGONAsport.com, the only English based website for Greek sports fans across the world! Like us on Facebook, follow us on Instagram, and Twitter for all the latest news in Greek Sports!