Premiership clubs, led by the European champions Liverpool, formed three of the top four earners in last season's Champions League, though Manchester United were not among them.
Figures released by Uefa yesterday reveal that Liverpool generated €30.6 million from TV and media revenues, as well as performance bonuses, en route to winning the trophy in Istanbul last month.
Chelsea and Arsenal, who secured €28.0 million and €23.4 million respectively, came second and fourth in the table of earnings, with the English clubs' dominance punctured only by the beaten finalists Milan, who claimed €26.2 million.
Some €415.5 million was distributed by Uefa between the 32 clubs who qualified for last season's competition, with that money made up of bonuses for wins and progress through the rounds, as well as each country's pool for media and sponsorship revenues. They do not take into account funds generated through ticket sales.
Yet United, who were eliminated by Milan in the first knockout phase, slipped behind Lyon, Bayern Munich and Werder Bremen to register as eighth highest earners with 16.3 million.
"The figures show how important success on the pitch is," said Henk Potts, a finance analyst for Barclays stockbrokers. "Manchester United had a poor season in Europe last year and that is reflected in the figures.
" Malcolm Glazer will want the club to be rising pretty rapidly up the earnings table but to do that he has to invest in players. That's the difficulty facing every club: how much to invest in players to bring in even more money."
"Celtic, as Scotland's sole representative in the competition, earned 10.5 million despite failing to qualify from their group.
"This does show that English football is the dominant financial force in Europe and it shows the value of the Champions League TV contracts to the clubs who take part," Potts added.
"The earnings from the Premier League are very important but the Champions League is very much the big cash cow of modern football. If you can make it to the Champions League for several seasons, then it really is the road to riches."
Liverpool effectively earned as much from their run to the Champions League final as they did from Premiership television rights last season, with English clubs benefiting from the highest broadcasting fees, given that they have two companies - Sky and ITV - covering matches.
The Uefa figures just show the distribution of performance bonuses and market pool cash (money from TV, sponsorship and new media) and do not include gate receipts, another area where English clubs outperform their European rivals.
One pot of €30 million is split depending on domestic league position - the reigning English champions (last season Arsenal) got 40 per cent, Chelsea 30 per cent, third-placed Manchester United and fourth-placed Liverpool 15 per cent each.
Another pot of €30 million is split among the English clubs according to how many games each side plays in the tournament.
Should the five English clubs, Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal, Everton and Liverpool, qualify for the group stage next season, earnings will fall because the pots will have to be split five ways rather than four. Similarly, should only three qualify - and Chelsea and Arsenal have done so automatically - their earnings will rise.
Guardian Service
