Uefa Champions League winners set to rake in £67m

LONDON - This season's Uefa Champion's League winner is set to earn around 拢67m including sponsorship and merchandising opportunities, according to leading sports finance experts.

The findings come in a report published by one of the competition's main sponsors Mastercard, in conjunction with market research firm KRC Research, and found that sponsorship opportunities alone could be worth 拢34m for the victor.

The experts, drawn from across Europe, estimate that victory could double merchandising revenue and bring in an extra 拢13.5m by bolstering the winner's global image.

Other spoils for the victor include pushing up the value of winning players by as much as a third, as well as gaining additional TV revenue and prize money as they progress through the competition.

In last year's final, Barcelona received performance and television rights bonuses of around 拢21m.

The report added that other benefits for the winner include an increase in hospitality income, advertising opportunities and fan base as well as greater influence in their leagues.

The report also found that the home city of the winning club will be set for a massive boost in revenue, with the experts estimating that Liverpool's 2005 victory was worth 拢47.4m to Merseyside. Porto's victory the previous year is estimated to have swelled its local economy by 拢8.1m.

The report follows yesterday's draw for the group stages of the Champions League, which pitted Chelsea against Barcelona, Manchester United against Scottish champions Celtic, Arsenal against Portuguese side Porto, and Liverpool in a group that includes Dutch side PSV Eindhoven and France's Bordeaux.

Meanwhile David Beckham's Spanish side Real Madrid take on French champions Lyon, Romanian champions Steaua Bucharest and Ukrainian side Dynamo Kiev.

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