Man City discover cost of miserable UCL campaign – and it could get worse

Manchester City's miserable Champions League campaign has already cost the pre-tournament favorites almost £6million in prize money.

City won only two of the first six games after the 2-0 defeat against Juventus and also drew twice and suffered two defeats.

Clubs will save £1.73 million for every group stage win and £580,000 for every draw. That means City have claimed just £5.76m of the £10.76m on offer.

Liverpool, on the other hand, have earned the full amount after winning their first six games and will add a further £3.46 million to their pot if they maintain their 100 percent record in their last two matches.

City appear to be heading for a play-off in their bid to reach the last sixteen. They are currently in 22nd place with a trip to Paris St Germain and a home game against Club Brugge looming.

The 16 teams going into the play-offs will receive £820,000 from UEFA. Any club that makes it to the last 16 will claim a further £9.1 million in prize money.

City have reached the knockout stages of the Champions League in each of the past 11 seasons and won the European Cup for the first time in 2023.

Failure to reach the last 16 would be a huge blow to both the club's prestige and City's bank balance.

Manager Pep Guardiola admitted he was questioning himself amid City's poor run, which has seen them lose seven of their last 10 games in all competitions, but vowed to turn their fortunes around after their defeat in Turin.

“Of course I doubt myself, but I am stable in good and bad moments,” he said. “I'm trying to find a way to do it. I'm incredibly honest. If we play well.” [I say] we played well and today I thought we played well.

“We missed the last pass and didn't get into the six-yard area [at the right time] or having the calmness at the right time. But I love my team. This is life, it happens. Sometimes you have a bad period, but I'll keep pushing until we get there.”

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