River lose millions by missing out on the Copa Libertadores | OneFootball

At River, there is a contradiction, a bittersweet feeling: Boca is out of the Torneo Apertura and won’t be champion, but they left Marcelo Gallardo’s team condemned to play in the Copa Sudamericana. The dilemma that was so much discussed beforehand landed on that side of the coin, and the consequences will not only affect the footballing aspirations of a club used to operating at the highest international level: not playing in the Copa Libertadores will also be a major blow to the club’s finances.

For not having done enough to qualify, and now with the last chance that depended on their eternal rival gone, the Millonario will lose several million dollars due to the gap in prize money between the two continental competitions.

To put it in context, simply participating in the Libertadores means a difference of 4.2 million dollars compared to the Sudamericana, based on the official figures released by Conmebol for 2025 (they will increase in 2026, but this serves for perspective): the former gives 6 million USD, while the latter gives 1.8 million USD.

In addition to the base earnings for entering the group stage, each subsequent phase in one competition versus the other increases the gap in the accumulated amount; and the truth is that it is substantial and will consequently be a heavy blow to River’s financial structure. Below, the details of how much money each competition awards per stage and what Gallardo’s team will lose.

Stage Libertadores (USD) Sudamericana (USD) Loss per stage (USD) Group Stage (6 matches) 6,000,000 1,800,000 4,200,000 Group Stage Sporting Merit (average) 1,584,000 552,000 1,032,000 Round of 16 (2 matches) 2,500,000 1,200,000 1,300,000 Quarterfinals (2 matches) 3,400,000 1,400,000 2,000,000 Semifinals (2 matches) 4,600,000 1,600,000 3,000,000 Runner-up (final bonus) 7,000,000 2,000,000 5,000,000 Champion (final bonus) 24,000,000 6,500,000 17,500,000 Finally, it’s worth making a comparison of the maximum prizes, that is, how much a Libertadores champion earns versus a Sudamericana winner: 24 million US dollars is what Flamengo took home for recently being the best in America, while Lanús pocketed 6.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.