A defeat for Benfica in their Champions League play-off would benefit Italy’s qualifiers, according to reports.
The Portuguese giants take on Danish side Football Midtjylland in the first leg of their third preliminary clash on Tuesday with qualification to the group stage at stake.
And Calcio e Finanza explain Benfica reaching the next round will see the total prize money due to Milan, Inter and Napoli for their performances in Europe over the past 10 years decreased.
The report suggests at total of €600.60 million will be shared among the qualifiers and the higher the ranking, the better the share of the money received.
Juventus are guaranteed to be in fourth place whatever the outcome of the play-offs and therefore their share of €33m will be unaffected.
However, Benfica’s presence would directly affect Italy’s three other qualifiers, with each se to miss out on around €1m each should the two-time winners progress, the report adds.
According to the report, Napoli’s total income would be €19.3m if Benfica do not overcome Midtjylland and €18.2m if they do.
For Inter, they would see their amount reduced from a possible €17m to €15.9m and Milan’s difference would be from €15.9m to €14.7m.