How much would Celtic, Rangers, Aberdeen and Hibs earn with qualification for European competition?

It’s a huge week for Scottish football as four Premiership sides go into crucial European ties that will shape their season.

Celtic, Rangers and Aberdeen will all be in action, determined to ensure they are playing at the highest possible level, while Hibernian face an all-or-nothing clash that could see them celebrating Conference Leaague qualification or bowing out of continental competition for the season.

For Celtic and Rangers, it’s simple: defeat Kairat Almaty or Club Brugge respectively, and the glamour and riches of the Champions League await. Lose, and there’s the consolation prize of direct qualification to the Europa League.

Aberdeen take on Romanian side FCSB knowing that a place in the Europa League awaits them, but there is the safety net of the Conference League and six guaranteed matchdays for the loser of the tie.

Supporters of all four Scottish sides will be out in numbers to back their teams home and away, eagerly anticipating glamour matches against big European names, and plenty more drama and nights under the floodlights through until the end of the year at least.

But it’s not just about the prestige, the travel and the top-class opposition, there’s also a lot of money at stake. Playing at any level of European football is lucrative, and those who play at the highest levels win the biggest prizes.

We’ve had a look at the financial rewards on offer for our sides and what the difference will be for those who are successful over the next two weeks.

Champions League is the pinnacle for Celtic and Rangers

Rangers' win over Viktoria Plzen means only Club Brugge stand between the Ibrox side and the Champions League. — Rangers’ win over Viktoria Plzen means only Club Brugge stand between the Ibrox side and the Champions League. SNS Group

Hearing the sounds of Handel’s Zadok the Priest before kick-off is the sign that there’s elite European action in store but UEFA could replace the Champions League anthem with the sound of cash registers ringing and the same point would be made.

The money in Europe’s top competition has grown to a staggering sum over the years and last year’s revamp, with the expansion of the League Phase, put even more riches in the hands of those that qualify.

The biggest single figure is the amount teams get just for reaching the 36-team League Phase. Each team gets €18.62m (£16.06m at today’s exchange rate) as a welcome to the tournament proper.

With that sum secured, all eyes turn to the draw on August 28, when teams learn which eight sides they will be up against. The benefits of a kind draw aren’t just on the pitch, with the prize money for good performances bring in more cash.

Each League Phase win will see a club add €2.2m (£1.81m) to their coffers, with a draw netting €700,000 (£604,000). Last season, Celtic’s League Phase performance saw them earn €8.4m (£7.24m) from their three wins and three draws.

UEFA pays further prize money depending on the final league position. The bonus prize pot is split into 666 equal shares of €275,000 (£237,000) and the team that finishes 36th in the league gets one share.

An additional share is added for every place above 36th all the way up to first place, which receives 36 shares.

Celtic’s position last year, finishing 21st, meant they had 16 shares and pocketed another €4.4m (£3.79m).

Teams who finish from ninth through to 24th get €1m (£862,000) for reaching the knock-out play-off round, while those who were ninth to 16th get another €1m (£862,000).

Finishing in the top eight of the league is no easy task but that would bring a €2m bonus (£1.72m) plus another €11m (£9.49m) for participating in the round of 16. Beyond those stages the money goes up and up, and if a Scottish team upsets the odds to go that far, we’ll break it down in much more detail at the time.

Prize money and participation money is only part of the income from the competition though. Teams earn a huge amount from the matchday revenue of having at least four home games, with ticket sales, catering, corporate hospitality and other streams of income.

The other major money-earner comes from television. UEFA sells the broadcast rights centrally and shares profits with clubs in a mechanism called the “value pillar”, which means each club’s calculation is different.

The payment is split into two parts. The larger portion is for the European part of their income and payments to clubs are based on two elements: How much the nation’s broadcast market contributes to the overall pool; and the individual club’s five-year co-efficient score.

UEFA has not published figures for this part of the payment, but for guidance, Celtic is estimated to have earned around €9.6m (£8.42m).

The non-European market share payout is simpler and based solely on a club’s ten-year co-efficient. That will have brought Celtic an estimated €4m (£3.45m) last season.

Europa League promises excitement and big prizes for Aberdeen

Aberdeen's Scottish Cup triumph brought a place in the Europa League play-off. — Aberdeen’s Scottish Cup triumph brought a place in the Europa League play-off. SNS Group

It will take a long, long time for memories of last season’s Scottish Cup victory to fade from the minds of Aberdeen fans but right now it’s one of the rewards for that win that occupy the Dons’ thoughts.

Cup glory meant a place in the Europa League play-offs and only Romanian side FCSB stand between Jimmy Thelin’s side and the lucrative League Phase. Every effort will be made to try to set up eight games against what will undoubtedly include some big names in the second tier competition.

If either Celtic or Rangers fail in their Champions League bid, the League Phase of this competition is where they will end up, and while the money is only a fraction of what the elite tournament offers, there’s still plenty to be earned.

The ‘starting fee’ for participating sides in the competition proper is €4.31m (£3.72m) which is only a quarter of the Champions League equivalent but still a significant welcome for each of the 36 teams.

From there on, money has to be earned.

Each League Phase win brings in €450,000 (£389,000), with a draw paying €150,000 (£130,000).

Like in the Champions League, there’s further prize money to be paid depending on a team’s final league position. The bonus prize pot is split into 666 equal shares of €75,000 (£65,000) and the team that finishes 36th in the league gets one share.

An additional share is added for every place above 36th all the way up to first place, which receives 36 shares.

So a team that makes the top half in 18th place would have 19 shares and collect €1.42m (£1.23m) from the ranking bonus pot.

Qualification for the knockout stages as a team in place 17-24 would bring €300k (£259k) as a prize for reaching the play-off. Reaching the same stage as a team ranked 9-16 would earn €600,000 (£518,000) with a bonus included.

The high-performing sides who finish in the top eight of the League Phase go straight into the round of 16 with prize money of €1.75m (£1.51m) and an addition ranking bonus of €600,000 (£518,000).

For illustration, Rangers finished in eighth place last season en route to the quarter-finals with four wins and two draws from eight games. That meant they had guaranteed €10.86m (£9.38m) by qualifying for the last 16 from the league.

And in addition to the performance-based prize money broadcast funds are distributed through the ‘Value Pillar’ system again, with the overall pot about a quarter of the Champions League TV cash but still offering an individual split that could run into millions.

What’s on offer for Hibernian in the Conference League?

Hibs have been on a rollercoaster ride in Europe already this season. SNS Group

A two-legged all-or-nothing tie against Legia Warsaw will decide whether Hibs bow out of Europe this month or continue what’s already been a drama-packed campaign by reaching the League Phase of the Conference League.

The Easter Road side, who could be joined in the competition by Aberdeen if the Dons fail to get past FCSB, could enjoy a lucrative time in the competition that’s designed to give sides from the continent’s smaller leagues a chance to enjoy a longer run in Europe.

The prize money is naturally a step down from the bigger competitions but could still be significant for Scottish sides.

Each of the 36 sides that qualify for the League Phase receives an initial payment of €3.17m (£2.74m). For context, Hibs received just shy of £3m as prize money for finishing third in the Premiership last season.

Performance-related prizes can add up to a big payout too, as a win delivers €400,000 (£346,000) and a draw €133,000 (£115,000). However, the Conference League only has six matchdays at this stage compared to eight in the other two competitions.

The league ranking pays a bonus again, with that part of the prize pot split into 666 equal shares of €28,000 (£24,000) and the team that finishes 36th in the league gets one share.

An additional share is added for every place above 36th all the way up to first place, which receives 36 shares.

So a team that makes the top half in 18th place would have 19 shares and collect €532,000 (£460,000) from the ranking bonus pot.

Reaching the knockout round play-offs brings €200,000 (£173,000) for teams in 17th to 24th place, and €400,000 (£346,000) for those in 9th to 16th.

Teams in the top eight go straight to the round of 16 and collect €400,000 (£346,000) as a bonus and €800,000 (£692,000) for reaching that knockout round.

A share of TV money is split under the same rules as the other competitions but with a much smaller pot of €57m (£49.2m) distributed among the teams, compared to the €853m (£737m) in the Champions League fund.