Tottenham will have to win the Europa League this season to make up the shortfall of Mauricio Pochettino's side's failure to qualify for the Champions League knock-out stages, according to a football finance expert.
Spurs crashed out of Europe's primary club competition, despite a 3-1 victory over CSKA Moscow last night, with just seven points to their name.
Third place in Group E proved to be enough to seal a place in the last 32 of the Europa League but failure to progress to the Champions League's round of 16 is set to see Spurs miss out on between £17million and £25million.
Rob Wilson, football finance expert at Sheffield Hallam University, told the Press Association: "The financial cost of Tottenham not getting through to the last 16 is huge.
"There are some unknowns, like who they would have drawn in the Champions League last 16.
"But based on last year's figures even a conservative estimate suggests they have lost out on around €20million by going out, and that figure would be more like €30million if they had drawn a top team.
"To make that up in the Europa League, where the financial rewards are still so much less, Spurs will have to win the tournament."
The north Londoners are understood to have already earned £30million from their involvement in the group stages but have lost a chance chance to bolster their coffers further, particularly if they had secured a lucrative draw in the next round.
Of course, Spurs can still receive another handsome figure if they progress to the latter stages of the Europa League but will need to be crowned champions in Stockholm to secure a figure similar to the one they would have received for just one extra round of the Champions League.
Nine fixtures stand between Spurs and the Europa League trophy, which would seal a £25million windfall, with the draw for the last 32 set to be made on Monday afternoon.
