Last Season's AFC Champions League Prize Money Ranking: Shanghai Shenhua Leads CSL Teams, West Asian and Japanese Clubs Earn More

As the new AFC Champions League season is about to begin, an authoritative data website conducted a detailed review of the final prize money earnings of all participating teams from last season. The rankings show the income gap between different leagues in Asian football and reflect clear differences in prize distribution among regions. West Asian teams performed strongly, several Japanese clubs ranked near the top, while the prize money figures of CSL teams reflected their competitive performances in the tournament.

Looking at the overall prize money rankings, West Asian teams showed a strong presence. Saudi club Al Ahli Jeddah topped the list with total earnings of more than $12.35 million after an impressive AFC Champions League campaign, far ahead of other teams. The large reward came from their deep run in the competition and consistent performances, highlighting the competitive results brought by major investment from West Asian clubs and making them the biggest prize money winners last season.

After the West Asian clubs, Japanese teams became another major force in the AFC Champions League prize money rankings. Several J.League clubs earned considerable rewards through consistent performances, with their overall income surpassing teams from China and South Korea. Their success was supported by a mature league system, stable tactical approaches, and strong youth development. Their high group-stage win rates and frequent progress into knockout rounds helped them secure steadily increasing prize money.

Compared with the strong results of Japanese, South Korean, and West Asian teams, the prize money levels of the four CSL participants were relatively low, with significant differences between the clubs. The figures highlighted the competitive challenges faced by CSL teams in the AFC Champions League. According to the statistics, the prize money rankings of the CSL teams that participated last season showed clear differences between tiers.

Shanghai Shenhua ranked among the highest-earning CSL teams, receiving $800,000 in basic participation prize money plus $100,000 in performance rewards, for a total of $900,000. This result came from their steady performances in the AFC Champions League, as they earned valuable points during the group stage and showed the most consistent form among CSL participants.

Chengdu Rongcheng followed closely behind, ranking second among CSL teams with $888,500 in prize money. As a newcomer making its first AFC Champions League appearance, Chengdu Rongcheng delivered a notable performance. Although they did not receive major advancement rewards, their stable league-stage results kept their earnings close to Shenhua's total and demonstrated the potential of emerging CSL clubs.

Shanghai Port's performance was relatively ordinary, as they only received the basic participation prize money of $800,000 and failed to earn any additional performance rewards, showing that the team struggled to make a significant impact in last season's AFC Champions League campaign.

Beijing Guoan finished last among the four CSL teams, with total prize money of only $332,250, creating a clear gap compared with the other three clubs. The figures from these four teams show that CSL clubs generally remained below the million-dollar level, falling behind high-earning West Asian teams and Japanese and South Korean clubs. A key reason for the gap was the lower win rates of CSL teams in the AFC Champions League and their limited chances of reaching knockout stages. Most teams could only collect basic participation rewards and struggled to unlock higher advancement bonuses. To close the gap with Asia's top clubs, CSL teams need to improve their competitive strength and create more value and revenue through victories and deeper tournament runs.