Calculating the exact money that the Copa del Rey champion will pocket is very complicated, since it depends on a large number of factors, especially television rights and the performance of the winning team in the previous 5 seasons. However, it is estimated that whoever wins the cup will earn around 675,000 fixed euros plus other bonuses depending on performance or television rights. There is a big difference between one club and another, for example, at Betis, current champion, he earned 1.6 million euros while Barcelona the previous year got almost double.
This amount is much lower compared to the Champions League, where a team earns 15.6 million euros just for participating, to which amounts are added for each victory (2.8 million) and for draws (930,000 euros). But it is also that millions continue to be added for overcoming rounds: 9.6 million for reaching the round of 16, 12.5 for reaching the semifinal and 15.5 for reaching the final. The champion adds to all this another 4.5 million euros and participation in the European Super Cup (about 4 more).
Therefore, as with the Copa del Rey, in the Champions League it is also almost impossible to calculate how much the champion will earn until the competition has finished.
One of the main reasons why there is so much difference between the prizes of both tournaments is the image rights for the broadcast of the matches, since the audiences of the Copa del Rey are not much like those of international competitions, so there is less money to distribute between participants and winners.
In the first place, it is necessary to know that the distribution of these benefits is divided according to the application of Royal Decree Law 5/2015, which contemplates that each team will win based on its category and its success in the competition.
According to this form of calculation, a team from a lower category will earn less than one that arouses greater interest because it will generate less audience in the matches and because the distribution for those in the second division is smaller.
The result of these participants in the five previous editions is also contemplated, which again tends to harm the more modest teams, since they will usually have achieved less success than other big teams such as Madrid or Barcelona.
Broadly speaking, the Spanish Football Federation earns about 33 million euros a year from the broadcast of the Copa del Rey. Of that amount, 90% goes to professional football (first and second division), around 30 million euros, of which 90% will go to the First Division (more than 26 million euros) and 10% to the silver category. Of the percentage directed to professional football, 50% (13.5 million) will be distributed equally among the 20 teams, so that each team would receive a fixed amount of around 675,000 euros.
The other 50% is distributed based on sports performance in the last five seasons in the Copa del Rey, including the current season. In addition, money is also earned for reaching the different phases of the competition: 2.5% for participating in the round of 16, 6% for reaching the quarterfinals (6%), 9% for those who play in the semifinals, 16% for the runner-up and 22% for champion.
Of the 90-10 division of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), 10% corresponds to the promotion of amateur football and teams from other categories that participate in the tournament.
The current champion of the Copa del Rey, Betis, will receive about 1.6 million euros for having won the tournament: the 675,000 euros that first division clubs have, plus performance variables in the last 5 seasons.
For its part, the champion in 2021 was Barcelona, which earned a little over 3 million euros, since, in addition to the fixed by teams in the distribution, the performance of the previous 5 seasons is taken into account and in the case of This team, the results were much better than those of Betis, in fact, in three of the seasons that are taken into account (2017, 2018 and 2021) they were once again champions of the Copa del Rey.
Real Madrid was the last champion of the Champions League and according to data made public by UEFA, the white team earned 133.7 million euros. For its part, the finalist who was Liverpool, pocketed 120 million.
Although the prize money for the Copa del Rey is minuscule compared to the Champions League, it is still a tournament that arouses a lot of interest in Spain, with the peculiarity that big and small teams play together and in which anything is possible.
The next final will be held at the Olympic stadium of La Cartuja in Seville on May 6 at 10:00 p.m. between Real Madrid and Osasuna.
