UEFA said that it "handed out" a total of €150M ($161.5M) to clubs that released players for Euro 2016 qualifying matches and the tournament, according to Brian Homewood of REUTERS. UEFA said that 641 clubs from 54 national associations "benefited from solidarity payments which were made under an agreement to appease clubs who often complain about the amount of time their players spend with their national teams." For Euro 2016, €7,321 ($7,880) per player per day was paid to "so-called Category One clubs," €4,821 ($5,189) for Category Two clubs and €2,410 ($2,594) for Category Three clubs. UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin said, "I am very pleased to see that we are able to provide financial benefits to so many clubs of all profiles and sizes in order to reward their contribution to Euro 2016" (REUTERS, 2/2). The BBC reported five Premier League clubs "were among those to benefit most financially from sending their players to Euro 2016." Only Serie A side Juventus "earned more" than Liverpool, Tottenham and ManU, while Arsenal and Southampton were also in the top 10. Liverpool, top earner in the Premier League, took £2,890,773 ($3.1M) for releasing players for the finals and qualifying. Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Barcelona and Roma "completed the top 10." European Club Association Chair Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said, "It is important and fair to recognize and reward the clubs for the release of their players" (BBC, 2/2). The AFP reported German clubs led by Bayern Munich "were the second biggest beneficiaries," though at €18.5M ($20M) it was less than half the English compensation. Italian clubs got €15.8M ($17M), Spain’s sides €10.4M ($11.2M) and French clubs €7.2M ($7.7M), "just ahead of Russian sides" on €6.9M ($7.4M). Portugal beat France in the final, but because most of its players are from abroad, "their clubs received just" €2.4M ($2.6M) (AFP, 2/2).
PSG TOPS FRENCH CLUBS: LE PARISIEN reported Paris St. Germain received €1.34M ($1.45M) in compensation from UEFA. Sweden’s Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Italy’s Salvatore Sirigu and Thiago Motta and France’s Blaise Matuidi all played for their national teams at Euro 2016. PSG is the French club that “received the most compensation from UEFA,” followed by Olympique Lyonnais with €1.13M ($1.22M) and Olympique de Marseille with €900,000 ($971,955) (LE PARISIEN, 2/2).
