Peter Crouch explains how secret Champions League bonuses work and what players receive if they win

Former Premier League forward Peter Crouch has revealed how much players receive in bonuses as the Champions League progresses.

Crouch, 44, is no stranger to Europe’s premier club competition and even played during the final in 2007 – although his Liverpool side were on the wrong end of a 2-1 defeat against AC Milan in Athens, Greece.

The financial benefit clubs receive from reaching the Champions League is well documented, with UEFA breaking down the figures in a report posted on their website.

“The total amount available for distribution to participating clubs in 2024/25 is €3.317bn, of which €2.467bn (74.38%) will be distributed to clubs competing in the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Super Cup," read the report.

“A total of €30m will be paid out to clubs involved in the UCL play-offs: clubs that are eliminated will each receive a fixed payment of €4.29m.

“Each of the 36 clubs that qualify for the league phase can expect to receive a league phase allocation of €18.62m.”

But how much do the players who compete in the competition benefit from their clubs reaching the latter stages?

Crouch explained exactly how this worked when he played for Liverpool.

Peter Crouch played in the Champions League for Liverpool (Credit:Getty)

“In all honesty, bonuses don’t affect a player unless you’re in the Champions League,” said Crouch when speaking on ‘That Peter Crouch Podcast’ in 2019.

“When I was at Liverpool, I remember Jay Spearing, Darren Potter, Neil Mellor, Stephen Warnock was coming through… those young lads, when they got on the bench… the smile on their faces!

“These are young lads on not much, in football terms.

“You can probably go back over it. If you see some of the reactions of the players on the bench when the team has won in the Champions League, some of the celebrations are like they’ve won it.”

The former England striker then revealed how the payments increased as the competition progressed

“It pretty much doubles each time," he added. "If you win a game in the group stages, it will be X - like double X!

“Then you get through to the quarters: doubled, the semis: doubled, final: doubled.”