BERN: European champions Real Madrid will get around 50 million euros ($58 million) without kicking a ball in the Champions League next season as a new revenue distribution system comes into effect. European soccer body UEFA said on Tuesday that 2.04 billion euros would be distributed among the teams competing in its flagship tournament in 2018-19, although some will get considerably more than others. Critics say that the system creates a snowball effect as the clubs who already have the highest revenue get the most money. UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin, who was elected shortly after the new system was approved in 2016, has said that the lack of competitive balance is the biggest issue facing European football, but he concedes it cannot be changed overnight. Champions League group stage participants next year will receive a starting fee – which is the same for all teams – plus bonuses for winning matches, additional payments calculated on previous results (known as the coefficient ranking) and finally a share of the television market pool. The payments based on the coefficient ranking – calculated using results over the last 10 seasons in European competition – are the newest and the most contentious as they will benefit the biggest clubs the most. UEFA said that 585.05 million euros had been set aside for this category and would be divided into shares of 1.108 million euros each. Of the 32 teams in the group stage, the lowest ranked-team will receive one share, with an additional share added to every rank so that the highest-ranked team receives 32 shares, or 35.46 million euros. Real Madrid, winners for the last three seasons, top the coefficient rankings followed by Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Atletico Madrid, Manchester United, Chelsea, Juventus, Porto, Arsenal and Benfica. Published in Daily Times, June 7th 2018.