Conmebol revealed the top clubs that received the most money in recent years

Before the Libertadores and Sudamericana draw, Conmebol published a report detailing which South American clubs earned the most money both in their participation in these cups and in international and local prizes. The list presented includes three Argentine teams: River, Boca, and Racing.

The tables detailing the clubs' earnings cover from 2019 to 2024. In first position is Palmeiras with 77.7 million dollars, a result of their Libertadores back-to-back championships in 2020 and 2021 and their good performances in other years, followed by Flamengo with 75 million, also due to their double coronation of the "Eternal Glory" (2019 and 2022) and their outstanding performances in the rest of the editions in that time frame, and River with 46.5 million, earned entirely by good performances, including a runner-up finish in 2019, as they haven't won any title since the famous final in Madrid in 2018 against Boca.

Closing the top 5 are Fluminense with about 46 million and Atlético Mineiro with almost 43 million. Most of the money pocketed by Flu comes from their last two participations in Libertadores, one of them, the 2023 edition, being their first international conquest. Meanwhile, Galo, like River, hasn't won any regional title in the last 6 years, but they have earned quite a bit by going far in several editions, the latest being a runner-up finish.

Below the Brazilians is Boca with 42.3 million dollars. This amount comes from their participations in Libertadores, where they reached the final in 2023, and Sudamericana, where they played last year up to the Round of 16. Following them in the ranking are Athletico Paranaense, champion of the "Great Conquest" in 2021 and runner-up of the "Eternal Glory" in 2022, with 38.6 million, Independiente del Valle, champion of the Sudamericana in 2019 and 2022, with 37.3 million, Botafogo with 37.2 million, an amount earned almost entirely from their last two years in international competitions (Sudamericana in 2023 and champion of the latest edition), and Racing, champion of the latest edition of the Sudamericana, with 29.6 million.

Besides the club ranking, Conmebol shared a table ranking the countries that are part of the confederation by income. Brazil and Argentina are the clear dominators of this ranking, however, the Brazilians are close to doubling the earnings of their main rivals with about 493 million (a little more than a third of the total), compared to almost 268 million for the Argentines. Much further down, Ecuador completes the podium with 125.4 million in prizes.

Prizes in local tournaments

Another aspect detailed in the report was the economic contribution made by the South American entity to local champions. For example, in the case of Argentina, Conmebol gives an extra 500 thousand dollars to the winner of the First Division. This implies that the prize received by the team that wins the apertura or clausura would double their earnings, as currently the economic gain granted by AFA is a meager half a million dollars. Meanwhile, Brazil receives an extra 1 million, which if added to the 9 million won by the Brasileirao champion would give a total gain of 10 million dollars, 10 times more than in Argentina.