The last few weeks have been significant for the TLP platform.
There are now more than 158,000 of you watching on YouTube, 5,000 people have subscribed in the last four weeks.
We recently crossed 20,000 followers on Instagram.
And on Tuesday 2 June, more people subscribed to this newsletter in a single day than on any day since I moved from Beehiiv to Substack.
This newsletter now reaches more than 6,500 of you every week!
To everyone who has recently subscribed, watched a video, shared an article or simply spent a few minutes reading what I write each week, thank you.
I genuinely appreciate it.
Now, enough of the romantic stuff let’s talk about some football clubs.
Back in March, I wrote about five clubs whose seasons would be defined by the final few weeks of the campaign:
Aston Villa needed the Champions League
Hearts were trying to break the Scottish duopoly that had ruled for decades
Como were chasing Europe with one of football’s most unusual business models
West Ham simply needed to stay up
Lyon needed to convince regulators they belonged among France’s elite
That article was my most-read newsletter of the year!
Well, fast forward three months and the season is now over.
It was a strange year on the pitch.
Off the pitch however, the consequences are going to be enormous, I’m sure of it.
We now know who qualified for European football, who missed out and, in some cases, which clubs may have fundamentally changed their future.
This excellent graphic was produced by Football Meets Data, one of my favourite Twitter accounts covering the data behind European football.
Football Meets Data@fmeetsdata
📺 Visualization of UEFA prize money distribution across 108 clubs in 🔵🟠🟢 league stages (as of 28 May): 🔵 UCL: 🔺 €143.2m 🏴 Arsenal 🔻 €21.2m 🇰🇿 Kairat Almaty 🟠 UEL: 🔺 €41m 🏴 Aston Villa 🔻 €6.6m 🇸🇪 Malmö 🟢 UECL: 🔺 €20.4m 🏴 Crystal Palace 🔻 €4.4m 🇮🇪
7:00 AM · May 29, 2026 · 69K Views
11 Replies · 28 Reposts · 279 Likes
What you can see above is UEFA prize money earned by clubs across all three European competitions during the 2025/26 season.
The chart was published on 28 May, before the Champions League final took place, so the only meaningful change is that Paris Saint-Germain would ultimately move above Arsenal after beating them on penalties in Budapest.
However, I am showing you it because you can immediately see the gravity of Champions League football amongst clubs in Europe. Moderately placed UCL clubs heavily out-earn clubs in other European competitions making qualification paramount.
Keep this graphic in mind as we go through the clubs below because it helps explain why the final few weeks of the season mattered so much.
Let’s start in North London.
Arsenal’s season ended in heartbreak ☺️☺️☺️
Financially, however, this may prove to be one of the most important seasons in the club’s modern history.
This tweet, which is the final payouts in the UCL this season shows Arsenal earned €143.2m from UEFA competitions alone this season, more than almost every other club in Europe.
Interestingly, the financial trend is something to pay particular attention to.
Revenue
2022: £369m
2023: £430m
2024: £617m
2025: £643m
Expected (2026): ~£800m
They have also returned to profitability…
Profit / (Loss)
2022: (£46m)
2023: (£56m)
2024: (£18m)
2025: £25m
Expected (2026): TBC
The revenue has almost doubled in four years. The losses have disappeared. The club is profitable again.
As much as it pains me to say it, Arsenal have become one of the healthiest football clubs in Europe.
At the same time, many of Arsenal’s rivals are entering periods of uncertainty. Manchester City are navigating life after Pep Guardiola. Chelsea remain a puzzle. My club Manchester United are still searching for a way back to the top.
If Arsenal can maintain this trajectory for another few years…
In fact, let me not put this energy in the air 😂 No one wants to see that.
A few weeks ago, Roma looked destined for another season outside Europe's elite competition.
Then, five consecutive victories to end the season propelled Roma into third place and secured Champions League football for the first time since 2018/19.
Financially, the timing is perfect.
Roma have spent much of the last few years fighting their own balance sheet. In 2022, the club entered a settlement agreement with UEFA that forced them to reduce losses and control spending.
Those restrictions have shaped almost every transfer window since. Every season, they had to regularly sell players to remain compliant.
Roger Ibañez was sold to Al-Ahli for more than €30m. Benjamin Tahirović was sold to Ajax. Edoardo Bove was moved on. Even Tammy Abraham's departure this summer was heavily linked to UEFA deadlines and financial compliance.
That is why qualification matters so much.
The tweet I posted at the top of this article shows the gap between the Champions League and everything else. This season Roma earned around €22m from the Europa League. Next season, simply qualifying for the Champions League will be worth significantly more before a ball is even kicked.
The additional revenue will help with squad building, help with UEFA compliance and reduce the pressure to generate transfer profits every summer.
After five wins at exactly the right time, they finally have a chance to accelerate again. Let’s see if they can go back-to-back next season.
Two years ago, Brest finished third in Ligue 1 and qualified for the Champions League for the first time in their history.
It was one of the stories of the season.
The reward was transformational. European football brought prize money, exposure and revenue that a club of Brest’s size could never normally expect to receive.
Fast forward two years and reality has arrived.
Brest finished comfortably in mid-table and will not play European football next season. The Champions League money has disappeared as quickly as it arrived.
Which brings us to RC Lens.
Lens have just finished second in Ligue 1 and now find themselves facing one of the hardest decisions in football.
Do you go for it?
Do you spend aggressively, increase wages and try to establish yourself as a permanent Champions League club?
Or do you cash in?
Several of Lens’ players and coaching staff have never been more valuable than they are today. The temptation to sell, strengthen the balance sheet and secure the club’s long-term future will be enormous.
French football is currently operating in one of the most difficult financial environments in Europe.
Clubs are under pressure and the Champions League has become even more important as a source of income.
Brest showed what is possible. They also showed how quickly things can change.
So, as I said in my short-form video on this exact topic, Lens now have a decision to make now have a decision to make.
The answer may genuinely define the next decade of the club.
Chelsea’s season was a disaster.
They finished 10th in the Premier League. They missed out on European football. They sacked three managers.
I don’t need to actually say much about this because once I show you the numbers, everything will make more sense
Chelsea’s revenues have largely stood still over the last four years. Losses, meanwhile…
2022: £453m
2023: £475m
2024: £415m
2025: £442m
Expected (2026): TBC
2022: (£115m)
2023: (£167m)
2024: (£65m)
2025: (£257m)
Expected (2026): TBC
* Chelsea’s wider ownership group reported a profit during this period following an intra-group sale involving the women’s team. The football club accounts themselves continued to report significant losses.
It’s dark.
While Arsenal earned €143.2m from UEFA competition this season, Chelsea will not play European football at all next year.
Chelsea will need to generate significant transfer profits before the June 30 accounting deadline. They have no choice.
Cole Palmer, Enzo Fernandez, Levi Colwill. Genuinely, I think anyone can get it.
Fascinated to see what transpires in West London.
Now speaking of London, a quick update on two of the clubs from the original article.
West Ham did not stay up.
In shcoking news, a few days ago, I detailed how David Sullivan and Daniel Cretinsky are the two owners in place navigaitng this period for the club. Well, amazingly David Sullivan recently stepped away 😳
The club now finds itself facing a very uncertain future in the Championship and the financial consequences that come with it.
Hearts came agonisingly close to breaking the Scottish duopoly.
They ultimately fell short on the final day of the season, but it was still one of the most impressive campaigns in the club’s recent history.
They too will be playing Champions League football next season tapping into that European money!
Football has a funny way of reminding clubs just how difficult success really is.
For every Arsenal, there is a Chelsea.
For every Roma, there is a Brest.
And for every club that reaches the Champions League, there is another wondering what might have been.
By the time I write to you next, the World Cup will have started, so look out for a lot more World Cup content coming very soon. If you haven't seen it yet, see my flagship World Cup video, which has been received very well on YouTube
See you next week.
Comments
Nothing yet. Say the first thing.
Sign in to join the conversation.