Inter would bring in a significant cash windfall if they are to reach the semifinals of the Champions League by beating Benfica on Wednesday evening.
This is highlighted by Italian news outlet FCInterNews, who note that apart from the sporting accomplishment of appearing in the penultimate round of Europe’s top club competition, there is also a potential €30 million in earnings on the table for the Nerazzurri if they can win Wednesday’s match.
To begin with, there is the fact that an appearance in the semifinals of the Champions League would be, on its own, worth €12.5 million in revenues for any club that reaches that stage.
Then, there is the matter of the market pool for Italian teams in the competition.
Given that at least one team from Serie A is guaranteed to reach the semifinal stage of the competition given that AC Milan and Napoli meet in the other quarterfinal on the same side of the bracket as Inter, there will be a significant increase to the size of the market pool allocated compared to last season.
On top of that, each win in the Champions League is worth €2.8 million in prize money, whilst €930,000 is handed out to each team in the event of a draw.
Lastly, there is the matter of the gate receipts from the San Siro from playing another home match in the knockout rounds of the Champions League.
In the round of sixteen against Porto, the Nerazzurri earned €6.7 million in gate receipts, and the earnings from this week’s match against Benfica are anticipated to be similar.
If the Nerazzurri are to face either Milan or Napoli in the semifinals, they would play yet another lucrative home fixture on which to collect a significant gate receipt, taking their total earnings if they are to beat Benfica on Wednesday evening into the region of around €30 million.