Tuesday night’s impressive comeback win over Benfica means Barcelona reach the final round of the league stage in second place. They have already secured automatic qualification to the last 16 of the Champions League, although that does not mean that next week’s game against Atalanta will be a dead end for Hansi Flick’s team.
After a defeat on the first day against AS Monaco, Barcelona has returned strongly in the Champions League. They have won their next six games in the league stage (vs Young Boys, Bayern Munich, Crvena Zvedza, Brest, Borussia Dortmund and Benfica), and this keeps them on track to finish in the top two; They can still finish first, although they would need to win and Liverpool lose to PSV Eindhoven.
To date, Barcelona has accumulated 41.2 million euros in prizes thanks to its results in the league phase. If they manage to win against Atalanta next week, that figure could increase to €53.3 million, although that would depend on Liverpool losing, although even if the Catalans finish second, the amount won will be very similar, according to Diario AS .
Barcelona are determined to make as much money as possible to restore financial parity in the coming years, and club officials are exploring many different avenues. The best possible way to raise funds is with on-field efforts, and there has been a lot of success in doing so so far this season. However, there is still work to be done.
There is no doubt that Barcelona will take the match against Atalanta very seriously, as they will want to secure a place in the top two. Flick will want this regardless of the financial benefits, although if it means there is extra money available in the summer, he won’t complain.