Chelsea now finally know that they are set to face French champions Lille in the Champions League round of 16.
The Blues, the reigning champions of Europe, reached the knockout rounds of the competition having finished second in Group H behind Italian giants Juventus.
That meant they went into Monday’s draw as an unseeded team and were twice matched up with Lille after the first effort was declared null and void by UEFA.
With the current French champions struggling on the domestic front, and with the prospect of clashes with Bayern Munich and Real Madrid having been eliminated, for now at least, Chelsea fans were left ecstatic at the club’s next opponents.
Club executives will also be left delighted as it means that the Blues will still have their eyes firmly fixed on an even greater cash windfall as the competition continues.
Having progressed from their group, the Blues have already been handed €80.3m (£68m) for their participation in the group stages - that amount being worked out as a result of prize money, TV money and UEFA coefficient payments.
However, the rewards do not stop there. Clubs currently in the competition are set to receive a further €9.6m for reaching the knockout rounds, whilst they will also receive approximately €10.6m should they progress even further to the quarter-finals.
Semi-finalists will be handed €12.5m, whilst the eventual finalists also are rewarded with the sum of €15.5m. The eventual winner of the competition then receives a further reward of €4.5m.
It all means that should Chelsea retain their title by winning the final in St Petersburg, they will be handed a total of £45m.
Added to the amount that they received for just making it past the group stages then the Blues could well be in line for an eye-watering total prize fund of £114m.
Following the draw, it also appears that the Blues have an even bigger chance of becoming the first English side to win back-to-back Champions League titles.
Thomas Tuchel’s men now sit at a price of 13/2 to win the competition come the conclusion of the campaign, whilst only Liverpool, Bayern Munich and Manchester City are more fancied following the conclusion of the round of 16 draw.
