CHELSEA FC ARE SET TO EARN £45 Millions

Chelsea have guaranteed the biggest-ever TV cash pay-out from the Champions League after beating Barcelona to make the final.

The Stamford Bridge club will earn at least £45million (55.5m euros) with a further £2.8m to come if they win the trophy.

The money is UEFA's payments of TV cash alone and studies have shown the clubs can double that income from ticket sales, sponsorship and merchandise. Manchester United had previously held the record pay-out of CL television cash at £43.5m last season, but this year earned only £28m as a result of failing to qualify for the knockout stages.

2011-12 Champions League earnings

Chelsea £45m* (£36m last season)

Man Utd £28m (£43m last season)

Arsenal £22.7m (£24.7m last season)

Man City £21.3m (£4.5m in Europa League last season)

*£47.8m if they win CL final

Arsenal's earnings were £22.7m this year - £2m less than the previous season - while Manchester City's £21.3m show the difference with the Europa League where last season they earned just £4.5m.

If Chelsea do triumph in the final and finish outside of the top four in the Premier League, they will take the place of the fourth-placed team - currently Newcastle - in next season's Champions League.

That would be a huge financial boost to the Roman Abramovich-owned team, and a major blow of at least £20m to whoever misses out.

The four English clubs have been top of the Champions League payments for years due to the size of the TV deals paid by Sky and ITV, and collectively earned a total of £130m in television money from the competition this season - but £13m less than last season due to poorer performances generally.

However Chelsea's guaranteed £45m compares with £36m last season when they reached the quarter-finals.

UEFA calculate the distribution based on participation and performance bonuses, and half on TV market share.

Each club in the group stage gets a £3.2m participation payment plus £450,000 for each group match played. A further £650,000 are paid for each group win or £325,000 for a draw.

A place in the round of 16 earns £2.45m, the quarter-finals £2.7m, the semis £3.5m, with £4.6m to the losing finalist and £7.4m to the winner.

The TV market share depends on the value of each country's TV deal, and is split among the four English clubs on the basis of how many games they each played in the Champions League.