Aston Villa handed £9.4m Champions League incentive ahead of Club Brugge clash

Aston Villa have a big financial incentive to finish in the top eight of the Champions League league phase table.

Unai Emery's side are only one of two clubs who have managed to win all of their matches so far, but were pushed off top spot by Liverpool on Tuesday night after they claimed a fourth victory in a row, beating Bayer Leverkusen 4-0 at Anfield.

Villa face Club Brugge this evening, hoping to continue their 100 per cent record in the competition after beating Bologna two weeks ago, following a 3-0 win over BSC Young Boys and a memorable 1-0 victory at home against Bayern Munich.

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The reward for clubs who finish in the top eight positions is a guaranteed place in the round of 16, while clubs placed from ninth to 24th must play a two-legged knockout play-off, with the victors going through to the last 16. From then on it is a straight knockout.

In the knockout play-offs, the teams that finish between ninth and 16th will be seeded in the draw, meaning they will face a team placed 17th to 24th – with, in principle, the return leg at home. The eight clubs which prevail in the knockout phase play-offs will then progress to the round of 16, where they will each face one of the top-eight finishers, who will be seeded in the round of 16.

But Villa now have a big opportunity to claim a ticket for the last 16 after their perfect start. Not only would they skip the knockout play-off, but points mean prizes in the Champions League.

Bonuses are set at £1.8m per win or £601,000 per draw. So far, Villa have banked £5.4m and have another £9m to play for in the league phase. Referred to as 'shares', the higher the finishing place in the league phase table, the more 'shares' a club will receive.

One share is £236,000, therefore, the 36th-placed side would take home one share or £236,000 - from the league system, whilst the team that finishes top wins 36 shares, or £8.5m. Additionally, the clubs that place between first and eighth in the league will be given a £1.7m bonus, and those placed ninth through to 16th will be awarded an extra £859,000.

The league system's top eight teams plus the eight that progress from the play-offs will be awarded £9.4m each just for reaching the round of 16. Should Villa progress to the knockout play-offs instead, they would bag £859,000 for qualifying.

Qualification for the quarter-finals earns a club £10.7m, qualification for the semi-finals earns a club £12.8m, and lastly for reaching the grand final in Munich, the prize is £15.8m.

Finally, the competition's winner earns £5.5m for lifting the trophy, and would later earn £3.4m for competing in the following season's UEFA Super Cup. They would face the winner of next season's Europa League, with the winner getting £1m.

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