The financial impact of Milan dropping into the Europa League

AC Milan will have to continue their European adventure in the Europa League, and the aim is to get as much money (and glory) as possible from the competition.

This morning’s edition of La Gazzetta dello Sport (seen below) reports how Milan will set their sights on reaching the final in Dublin on May 22, hoping to win the Europa League/UEFA Cup for the first time in the club’s history.

The Rossoneri will enter the play-off round to gain access to the last 16 of the UEL with seven possible opponents in that phase, but they have kissed goodbye to any chances of playing in the FIFA Club World Cup in 2025 which would have guaranteed €45m in revenues as a minimum.

Playing on Thursday also cuts out a day of rest when looking towards the next league match, so lifting the trophy would repay many sacrifices, even more so if real money came into the coffers.

A year ago in the Champions League the Rossoneri received €9.6m for qualifying for the round of 16; €10.6m in the quarterfinals and €12.5m for access to the semi-finals, a total of €32.7m. Another €28.1m in cash came from spectator figures in the matches against Tottenham (round of 16), Napoli (quarter-finals) and Inter (semi-final).

Winning the Europa League would guarantee €30m with everything included: UEFA bonuses ensure €500k for participation in the playoffs (already certain), €1.2m for the round of 16, €1.8m for the quarter-finals and €2.8m for those who qualify in the semi-finals. Then, €4.6m goes to the finalists and another €4m to the winner. Total: €14.9m.

The market pool share, performance bonuses and again the stadium revenues must be added. Assuming four rounds of matches to be hosted at San Siro (playoffs, round of 16, quarters and semis) and an average revenue of €3-4m per match, the overall bill rises to around €30m. It is a partial estimate, given the figure would depend on the price of the tickets and how big the games are.

It’s difficult to find a recent point of comparison given Milan last played in the Europa League in 2020-21 and ended their run in the round of 16 against Manchester United. It was a prestigious tie that could have generated big box office revenues, but it was during Covid and so had to be behind closed doors.

Gennaro Gattuso’s Milan (2018-19) surrendered in the groups against Dudelange, Olympiakos and Real Betis, the opponent that attracted the most fans to the stadium: 22,405, €500k in cash.