Europe Could Bring Hajduk Nine Million Euros
Qualifying for the Conference League group stage would close the negative working capital of nine million euros, and the Split club could earn nearly the same amount with all bonuses and revenues.
Qualifying for the Conference League group stage would close the negative working capital of nine million euros, and the Split club could earn nearly the same amount with all bonuses and revenues.
Hajduk welcomes Lithuanian side Žalgiris to Poljud tonight at 9 PM in the second leg of the third qualifying round for the Conference League. The Split side won the first match in Vilnius convincingly 5:2, putting them very close to advancing to the playoff round. However, the true significance of this European campaign lies not on the pitch but in the club's books.
According to an analysis by Večernji list, reaching the Conference League group stage is almost a financial lifeline for Hajduk. Last year, the club officially reported a profit of 6.5 million euros, primarily due to the booked transfer of Luka Vušković and the write-off of Naš Hajduk's debt, but the actual working capital result was a deficit of nine million euros. This means Hajduk must continuously take on debt and sell players to get back to zero in terms of cash flow. The Split club has been waiting for a place in the group stage of a European competition for 16 years.
Ahead of the return leg against Žalgiris, Hajduk has generated around 1.8 million euros from UEFA prize money, ticket sales, and stadium-related revenue. It has spent about 400,000 euros on match organization and travel costs, meaning it is currently in the black by around 1.4 million euros from the European qualifiers.
Tonight's match against Žalgiris will bring in around half a million euros, and if the Lithuanians are beaten, the reward for reaching the playoff is an additional 175,000 euros. At that point, the total profit would be approximately 2.4 million euros, slightly less than that.
The biggest slice of the pie comes from reaching the group stage. For each club that enters the Conference League group stage, UEFA awards a prize of 3.17 million euros. Adding the roughly 350,000 euro difference between revenue and costs for the playoff double-header, Hajduk's European balance would rise to about 5.9 million euros.
But the story doesn't end there. Operational and commercial revenues and expenses from the six group-stage matches would bring in an additional 1.8 million euros, assuming a well-filled Poljud for home games. This would bring the total net earnings from Europe to 7.7 million euros.
On top of that, there are UEFA bonuses for results in each match and for the final ranking among the 36 clubs. If Hajduk finished 25th, which last season required seven points, they would receive 800,000 euros from UEFA for two wins (400,000 per win) and 133,000 euros for a draw. There is also a bonus for the final position: last place (36th) brings 28,000 euros, and each position above that adds another 28,000. Thus, a 25th-place finish would result in an additional 336,000 euros.
Taking into account all prizes, revenues, and costs, if Hajduk enters the Conference League group stage but does not advance to the knockout phase, they could earn just under nine million euros in total. That would exactly cover the negative working capital, eliminating the need for major concern or urgent player sales.
If Hajduk gets past Žalgiris, they will face the winner of the tie between Swedish side Hammarby and Polish side Raków in the final qualifying round. The first match in Poland ended 0:0, and the return leg is played tonight at 7 PM in Sweden. According to Transfermarkt, Hammarby's squad is valued at 34.7 million euros, Raków's at 32.4 million, while Hajduk's sits exactly between them at 33.5 million euros.
Participating in Europe would also significantly impact the value of individual players, improving their position in transfer negotiations. According to Večernji list, for the Whites, entering Europe is almost crucial for financial survival.
