Celtic set to land extra Champions League bonus

By Lewis Laird

July 28, 2022

Celtic are set to receive an extra Champions League bonus after Greek side Olympiacos were knocked out of the competition last night.

The qualifying process for the biggest club competition in the world is well underway, with sides from across Europe battling it out for the final few places this season.

The Hoops support have been left delighted that for the first time in many years, Ange Postecoglou’s side do not have to take part in any qualifiers and will instead enter the competition at the group stage.

However, that doesn’t mean there aren’t still factors within UCL qualifying that will affect the Bhoys, and supporters will be keeping a close eye on.

One of the more unknown factors of the current qualification process that was continuing to affect Celtic on Wednesday evening was the potential to receive more coefficient prize money.

The ever-reliable @Moravcik67 on Twitter confirmed last night that with Greek giants Olympiacos exiting the competition at the 2nd round stage, Celtic would receive an extra £950,000 in coefficient payments.

This is due to Olympiacos’s current ranking in the ten-year coefficient points system, which puts them above Celtic at this point in time.

However, after being eliminated across two legs against Israeli side Maccabi Haifa they will now enter the Europa League qualifiers, and Celtic will receive an extra UCL bonus payment.

Helping the Israeli side on their way to the next round of the Champions League qualifiers was a familiar name to some Hoops supporters, Mohammed Abu Fani.

The midfielder has been linked with a move to Parkhead on several occasions this summer. He may not join Ange Postecoglou’s squad, but he has had some involvement in helping the Bhoys, thanks to his goal in his current side’s 4-0 win over Olympiacos.

Although it may not seem like massive money, when you consider the club will earn upwards of £30 million due to their involvement in the Champions League, it will still come as a boost to receive extra prize money from this season’s competition.

For a club like Celtic, it could help fund a move for another crucial addition to Postecoglou’s side after an already busy summer transfer window.

Hopefully, this isn’t the final prize payment we see the club receiving this year, which would go a long way to building on the brilliant success of last season.

In other news, Report: Celtic not set to participate in latest UEFA safe standing trial.