LIVERPOOL await their last 16 Champions League opponents today – as they eye a cash prize of almost £100million.

The five-times winners have reached the semi-finals in three of the last four seasons, getting to the final in 2005 and 2007.

And if they repeat their feat of three year ago in Istanbul and lift the trophy in Rome in May, they are set to pocket up to £98.69m.

Europe’s top clubs have already made an average of £34.39million for reaching the knockout stage, according to new research commissioned by Official Sponsor, MasterCard.

This figure rises to beyond £40m in extra revenue for sides with the largest fan bases.

These financial injections will come via a UEFA participation payment, UEFA prize money, a share of UEFA commercial revenues from the tournament (market pool payment), ticket sales, commercial and marketing revenues including sponsorship and sales of merchandise, food and beverages and increased squad value.

One of the world’s leading sport business experts, Professor Simon Chadwick, who conducted the research for MasterCard, said:

“In uncertain economic times, sport’ is still one of the most lucrative industries to be involved in. The competition continues to be an important source of revenue and commercial activity for clubs, especially for those that qualify for the knockout phase of the competition.

“This inevitably makes a significant contribution to the annual turnover of the clubs involved. Moreover, revenues earned from UEFA Champions League football will be especially important to clubs as the moment, given difficult operating conditions across the world.”

UEFA awards £2.68million to each team that qualifies for the UEFA Champions League, plus £2.15million for participating in the Group stage.

A Group stage win was worth over £530,000 per game, or £268,000 for a draw. Reaching the first knockout phase has netted an instant £1.9million prize payment. A side qualifying for the knockout phase will have secured on average £8.4m in UEFA prize money alone. UEFA will make additional payments to Group stage teams dependent on the commercial success of the tournament, which the MasterCard report suggests could amount to approximately £8.4million per club.

The study also suggests ticket revenues have generated an average of £7.64m in income from the Group stage, with commercial and marketing revenues accounting for a further £5.36m on average and squad values increasing by an average of £4.47m on the back of qualification for the knockout phase.

This means that as an average across the sides in the UEFA Champions League, the economic boost derived from qualifying through the Group stage can be split up as 24.7% due to the UEFA market pool payment, 24.4%due to UEFA prize money, 22.3% due to ticket revenues, 15.6% due to commercial and marketing revenues, and 13.0% due to increases in player value.

UEFA prize money adds £2.2m for each quarter-finalist, £2.68m for each semi-finalist, £3.57mfor the runners-up and £6.26mfor the winners.

According to the MasterCard study, the side that lifts the UEFA Champions League trophy in Rome in May 2009 could earn up to a total of £19.5m in prize money, an expected £8.4m market pool payment, £17.84m in ticket revenues, £12.5m in commercial and marketing revenues, £13.4m in increased squad value, and up to £26.8m in other premiums associated with progression to the Final and victory, including bonus payments linked to sponsorship.