This weekend Barcelona and Juventus touch down in Berlin to battle it out for the biggest prize in football, with a new guide revealing that the UEFA Champions League is now the richest game in football – worth a cumulative €1billion.
The two teams have fought off some of the biggest teams in Europe to earn the right to walk out at the Olympiastadion, collecting €50.3million in prize money between them. However, that’s just spare change in a competition where TV rights are worth hundreds of millions and sponsorship deals are the biggest prize of all.
Interactive guide The Billion Euro Game (http://www.billioneurofootballgame.com) reveals that Europe’s biggest football tournament is worth a breath-taking one billion euros, making it the highest value match in the world.
Taking into account prize money, sponsorships, TV rights, attendances, and other commercial activities The Billion Euro Game explores the financial benefits that game delivers for the finalists, their cities, and the governing body UEFA.
Alongside revenue from sponsorship and media rights that accumulate throughout the season long tournament, the final itself attracts around 360 million television viewers and social media impressions totalling 12 billion.
Juventus, who less than a decade ago were banished into Serie B, are expected to make around €56million from TV sales alone thanks to a sizeable Market Pool in Italy, and around 20,000 fans of The Old Lady will land in the German capital contributing €35million to the local economy.
The exposure of the Champions League is huge, and winning the tournament three times in the last decade has transformed Barcelona into a global phenomenon that earns €206.7million from commercial activities each year, including €65.5million in shirt sales.
As hosts of the event, Berlin will see 70,500 arrive in the city who are estimated to spend €2.6million on souvenirs alone. And both the cities of Turin and Barcelona have also profited from the success of their respective clubs, collecting €5.5million each from visiting fans during the tournament.
