Chelsea need to put their mixed form behind them when they return to UEFA Conference League action on Thursday night. In such a strong position in the Premier League table in the middle of December, the Blues' results have been incredibly patchy since then and they face a fight to clinch a place in next season's Champions League in what remains of the term.
The top five in the 2024/25 Premier League season will qualify for UEFA's premier competition, with the west London club currently fourth and four points adrift of Nottingham Forest directly above them. However, Man City in sixth are only one point behind Chelsea and Aston Villa in seventh trail by a further point.
A top-five finish is a must for Enzo Maresca's Chelsea team come the end of May and the same goes for winning the Conference League final. The Blues are the outright favourites to get their hands on the trophy in Wroclaw, Poland on Wednesday, May 28 but the likes of Real Betis and Fiorentina will be out to ensure that is not the case.
Chelsea have fared extremely well in the competition so far after topping the league phase table with six wins from six and then beating FC Copenhagen over two legs in the round of 16. Their success in the competition has earned them £7.738million in prize money so far.
As ever, prize money is on offer for all teams competing in the Conference League, which is in addition to the 'value pillar' which is a combination of payments based on a 10-year club coefficient ranking and the broadcast revenue share of all participating countries. Clubs who reached the 36-team league phase all earned £2.653million and they had the opportunity to top up their money by securing £334,000 for a league phase win, with £111,000 for a league phase draw.
Additional money is then on offer for how far a club progresses in the competition, with £3.348million to be awarded to each team reaching the final. Whoever triumphs in Poland at the end of May then receives a further £2.512million on top of their money for making the showpiece finale.
Chelsea's run of winning all six league phase matches saw them pocket £2.004million and that figure was topped up even further for their progress in the competition. The Blues earned £844,000 for finishing top of table as each position in the standings was worth just over £23,000, they claimed £2.653million for reaching the league phase and also £146,000 from their play-off round participation.
A top-eight finish secured another £334,000, which was then topped up by £669,000 for reaching the round of 16 and a further £1.088million for making the quarter-finals, thus bringing about a total of £7.738million when added to their £2.004million from their performance in the league phase.
If Chelsea progress beyond Legia Warsaw in their quarter-final double header then they stand to make £2.092million for reaching the semi-finals. In comparison, Arsenal will receive £12.55million if they reach the final four of the Champions League.
A place in the final would see the Blues earn £3.348million but that number would increase to £5.860million if they win the final in Wroclaw. So, there is the possibility that Chelsea can earn an extra £7.952million in prize money in this season's Conference League.
Add that to the £7.738million banked so far and that would total a potential windfall of £15.690million in prize money across the European season. Chelsea will be hoping they are in the Champions League next season and competing for the top prize money on offer there, especially as London rivals Arsenal can secure £89.292million in total if they lift the trophy in Munich later next month.
