Is European dream worth it financially?

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Brighton and Hove Albion could be looking at a top-six finish, and reaching the European dream, but what would that mean for their finances?

Football finance expert Kieran Maguire broke down the costs on the Brighton and Hove Albion podcast.

He explained: "It is really exciting [looking at a top six finish]. Some people have already thought about booking hotels for next May. Which is probably taking things a bit far. We could be in three European competitions, we could be in none. There's a huge buzz of excitement amongst the fanbase."

So is reaching the Champions League a gamechanger for the club, over the other two European competitions financially?

Maguire added: "If you take a look at the distribution of prize money. For every £100 given out in prize money, £74 goes to the Champions League, £18 to the Europa League and £8 to the Europa conference. To a certain extent it's Champions League or nothing."

Maguire explained the Europa Conference League can be difficult for clubs financially, because games are then often played on Sundays and Thursdays - typically more difficult days to sell hospitality packages. In addition, there's the need for a bigger squad.

"You actually make less money from the Premier League if you're in the Europa Conference, you don't make much money yourself," Maguire added.

"Palace have earned £15m this year. But by the time you have paid for travel, player bonuses and invested in an extra two or three match-standard players in the squad, you're actually down in money.

"Some of these revenue streams are overstated. Just how much exposure are you going to get? How much extra shirts are you going to sell? Even if Brighton do get into the Champions League, where are all the eyes? On , etc. Because they are the bigger brands. There will be people watching Albion, and you're hosting and , they're great as a one-off. But I don't think it is as lucrative for the ancillary revenue streams.