Manchester City are battling to secure Champions League qualification for next season - missing out would come at a price.
Manchester City are used to competing at the sharp end of the Champions League at this time of year, not chasing a place in it.
But, after slipping to a ninth Premier League defeat of the season last time out at Nottingham Forest, Pep Guardiola's side slipped to fifth in the table and will drop at least one more spot if they are beaten by in-form Brighton at the Etihad on Saturday.
City are in a competitive and congested fight for Champions League qualification next season and even with fifth likely being enough to qualify, there are no guarantees the Blues will make it.
City earned £26.5million in prize money this season. Had they reached the last-16, they would have banked a further £9m. And the increasing rewards for reaching the final would have unlocked up to £52.3m in prize money - plus up to £11m that would have been available for a better League Phase performance.
The Blues have already missed out on that financial reward and failure to reach the top table of European football next season would deliver a further blow.
If City end up in the Europa League, and then win it, they could earn around £60million. Simply playing in the Champions League will swell that figure to more than £100million with this season's winner set to earn £138m.
City announced record revenues of £715m in their latest accounts, up to June 2024. The Blues have now earned a profit each season since 2014-15, with the exception of 2019-20 in a campaign hit by Covid.
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