Champions League champions, PSG increasingly successful and rich

Who says that winning the Champions League is merely a matter of prestige and pride as a champion in Europe? Winning the club tournament in the Blue Continent also presents an opportunity for clubs to increase their revenue, as experienced by the champion of the 2024-2025 season, Paris Saint-Germain or PSG. With a financial windfall of up to 148.12 million euros or approximately 2.7 trillion rupiah as the Champions League winner, PSG is not only thriving but also becoming increasingly wealthy.

Nasser Al-Khelaifi's obsession, the owner of PSG, for over a decade to bring home the Champions League title was finally realized in the 2024-2025 season. PSG lifted the "Big Ears" trophy after defeating Inter Milan with a score of 5-0 at the Muenchen Football Arena, Sunday (1/6/2025) early morning WIB.

For PSG, this first Champions League trophy completes the club's achievements since its establishment in 1970. PSG has amassed more than 50 titles, including 13 Ligue 1 trophies. Moreover, the Champions League title also complements their remarkable journey this season as champions in three different competitions.

PSG began its glory by winning the Trophee des Champions or the French Super Cup by defeating AS Monaco 1-0 at the beginning of 2025. Subsequently, PSG lifted the French League trophy last April. "Les Parisiens" were very dominant, collecting 26 victories and suffering only two defeats.

The children under the care of Luis Enrique are far ahead of their closest competitor, Olympique de Marseille, by a margin of 19 points. Before the Champions League final, they also won the Coupe de France after defeating Stade de Reims with a score of 3-0 on Saturday (25/5/2025).

"I cannot find the words. This is a dream come true. Incredible. What we have achieved today is truly magical. We have made history in French and European football, and I am very pleased with how everything has gone this season," said winger Desire Doue, who inspired PSG's early lead over Inter with two goals and one assist.

With the success of winning the Champions League, PSG is certain to receive a fantastic cash injection. According to a report by French media, L’Équipe, when PSG reaches the final alone, the team is predicted to earn almost six times more than what they would receive from the French League broadcasting rights.

L’Équipe estimates that PSG will receive 22 million euros from Ligue 1 broadcasting rights. As for the Champions League, PSG will receive 18.62 million euros in participation bonuses, 17.5 million euros for their appearances and ranking in the league phase, 11 million euros for reaching the round of 16, 12 million euros for the quarter-finals, 15 million euros for the semi-finals and 18.5 million euros for the final.

In addition, PSG will also receive 34 million from broadcasting and marketing rights from UEFA, as well as 11 million from their UEFA coefficient over the past 10 years. By defeating Inter, PSG will receive a bonus of 6.5 million euros and 4 million euros for participating in the UEFA Super Cup against the Europa League winner next August.

Thus, PSG received a total of 148.12 million euros or approximately 2.7 trillion. This amount allows Desire Doue and his teammates to set a record for prize money in a single season from the Champions League, surpassing the previous record of 138.8 million euros achieved by Real Madrid following their success last season.

The 2024-2025 Champions League indeed offers a significant increase in the total prize money. UEFA previously announced that the total prize fund for the Champions League is 2.71 billion US dollars (approximately 44.15 trillion IDR), which is a one-third increase compared to the previous season's 2.19 billion US dollars (approximately 35.6 trillion IDR).

The increase in the total prize money is in line with the change in the competition format, which has expanded from 32 teams to 36 teams with a league phase. This not only affects the structure of the competition but also impacts the amount of prize money received by the participating clubs.

This situation has raised concerns about the competitiveness of domestic leagues in Europe. There will be a striking disparity between what teams that only compete in domestic leagues earn and those that participate in European competitions.

In the French League, for example, the TV agreement of Ligue 1 with DAZN, which was canceled after only one season of a five-year term, will alter the revenue of teams from the domestic league. L'Equipe revealed in August that a sharp decline awaits Ligue 1 clubs due to this agreement.

At the top of the table, clubs will receive less than a third of the funds compared to last season. The same applies to the bottom teams. With increased revenue from Europe, this risks widening the gap in the domestic league, which has already suffered greatly due to a lack of competition at the top.

Nevertheless, the increase in prizes from UEFA pressures income while supporting clubs that secure tickets to the competition. Three other French clubs joined PSG in the Champions League, namely LOSC Lille, AS Monaco, and Brest, which have earned more money from Europe than they have from domestic competitions.

On the other hand, the flood of funds from the Champions League will clearly make PSG even richer. In a Forbes report, PSG is the seventh richest football club in the world in 2025. Their income reaches 870 US dollars or equivalent to 14.17 trillion. By winning the Champions League, Forbes predicts that PSG will experience a surge in income next year.

Money, for PSG, is indeed not everything. Since being taken over by Nasser Al-Khelaifi through Qatar Sports Investments (QSI) in 2011, PSG has spent billions of dollars to transform the team. They have brought in numerous megastar players, including Kylian Mbappe, Neymar Jr, and Lionel Messi.

The funds allocated for the "Galactico" project are certainly substantial. When bringing Neymar from Barcelona in 2017, for instance, PSG paid a transfer fee of up to 222 million euros (equivalent to IDR 4.1 trillion at the current exchange rate). Neymar's arrival broke the record for the most extravagant purchase eight years ago. This effort was made in pursuit of the ambition to secure the first Champions League title.

With the additional funds from the Champions League, PSG, which is already wealthy, will indeed become even richer. However, more importantly, they are also "rich" in terms of team performance by having the right coach and solid players, even without a megastar. (AP)