 "Man City have not exited Champions League from the first stage since 2012-13. Image: Reuters")
Manchester City are in danger of missing out on the UEFA Champions League knockout phase play-offs. Pep Guardiola’s City face Belgium’s Club Brugge at Etihad Stadium on Wednesday and nothing less than a win will work for them.
“The situation that we have is that we have to win the game and if not we will not continue in this competition,” Guardiola said ahead of the crucial game. “We want to have another chance to play another two games, to have the chance of the next stages. It’s not a problem, it’s an opportunity.”
City are currently 25th in Champions League’s first-ever 36-team group. The first eight teams will automatically qualify for the knockouts while the team finishing between 9th and 24th will take part in the playoffs.
Also Read | Champions League 2024/25 Knockout Round: Last 16 draw and seedings explained
Man City are two points behind Stuttgart who are in the last playoff pot (24th).
The English Premier League champions have not exited the Champions League in the first phase since 2012-13 and Guardiola has never experienced it in his whole managerial career. Hence, Man City exiting from the group stage in the 2024-25 Champions League will be a major blow to the club. And not only to their ambitions but also to their deep financial pockets.
Man City can lose potentially 64.5 million euros
Let’s take a look at the prize money associated with taking part in the Champions League and reaching the advanced stages.
Each participating club is guaranteed a payment of 18.62 million euros (£15.6 million) besides performance bonuses of 2.1m euros per win and 700,000 euros per draw.
In addition, 1 million euros will be paid to the team reaching the playoffs but if you reach the last 16, you will take home 11 million euros.
The teams reaching the quarter-finals will receive an extra 12.5 million euros and clubs progressing to the semi-finals receive 15 million euros.
Losing finalists will receive 18.5 million euros and the winner of the Champion League will take home a whopping 25 million euros.
If Man City get knocked out from the league phase then they can potentially miss out on 64.5 million euros. That is a major amount that the club and Guardiola can spend in the next transfer window.
If they get eliminated early, Man City may end up spending very little amount in the next summer transfer window.