The round of 16 Champions League ties are over and there is one big winner. Money.

Recently Deloitte produced it’s yearly Football Money League for 2014. It makes interesting reading as to which clubs around Europe generates the highest revenue:

What it further highlights is just how important money is in football these days. The mantra “He who earns the most tends to achieve the most” certainly applies in the modern game. On simple terms, all 8 sides in the Quarter Final’s of this years Champions League are members of the top 20 richest clubs in Europe. But it go’s further then that. Only one side in this years last 16 progressed against a side who has a bigger revenue then it, Atletico Madrid…

Bayern Munich (€431.2m) beat Arsenal (€284.3m)
Barcelona (€482.6m) beat Manchester City (€316.2m)
PSG (€398.8m) beat Bayern Leverkuson (unranked)
Atletico Madrid (€120m) beat AC Milan (€263.5)
Chelsea (€303.4m) beat Galatasary (€157m)
Real Madrid (€518.9m) beat Schalke 04 (€198.2m)
Dortmund (€256.2m) beat Zenith (unranked)
Manchester United (€423.8m) beat Olympiakos (unranked)

It is a clear indicator of the affect money has on the game. It will be interesting to see if the semi-final’s follow the same pattern.

They say football is an unpredictable game, where anyone can beat anyone. Whilst this is true (Wigan beating Manchester City for example) it is clear that money is making the game more predictable.

Keenos
Follow @KeenosAFC