Chelsea Have Officially Qualified For The Champions League

Victory at Everton ensured Antonio Conte’s side will be lining up alongside the likes of Real Madrid and Barcelona again next season

 

Chelsea have qualified for next season’s Champions League after a 3-0 win at Everton on Sunday afternoon following a year of no European football.

Pedro’s stunning goal set Chelsea on their way at Goodison Park as they earned more than the point they needed to clinch a return to the Champions League.

Jose Mourinho and Guus Hiddink’s Chelsea failed to secure any European football last season after a disastrous season saw the Blues finish in 10th place only a year after winning the title.

Chelsea remain favourites to win the Premier League title but Roman Abramovich’s minimum expectation for his side this season was to qualify for the Champions League again.

Qualification is financially important for Europe’s top clubs and Chelsea will compete for a share of the €1.3 billion prize fund for clubs. Chelsea will earn a least €12.7 million from UEFA for their participation next season, but that could rise to a maximum of €57.2 million if they win the competition.

Chelsea will also stand to earn more from the commercial and marketing side of the game for their qualification, with the aforementioned fees including just the TV and prize money on offer.

They are the fifth club in Europe to qualify for the Champions League group stage – with Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and FC Basel already confirmed.

Meanwhile, Everton have qualified for the Europa League after West Brom and Southampton failed to win this weekend.