The Premiership's Champions League survivors have cashed in on a £36million bonanza by reaching the knockout stage of the Champions League, which will be drawn later today.

Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United are the top earners among their European rivals and according to a new study each could double their income from prize money, TV cash, merchandise, sponsorship and ticket sales by winning the tournament.

Professor Simon Chadwick, who carried out the research into Champions League income for tournament sponsors MasterCard, said: "Few people realise that UEFA has increased prize revenues for the UEFA Champions League this season quite significantly and, coming out of a downturn, that is a real boost to clubs.

"Over a calendar year, our research suggests that the UEFA Champions League is worth as much as six billion euros (£5.3billion) to the European economy, with England, Italy and Spain enjoying the greatest economic boost in the last 12 months."

That means that the annual UEFA Champions League 'economy' is comparable to the last FIFA World Cup finals in Germany.