The richest pot in the game awaits Manchester United if they can win the Champions League final tonight in Rome. A report last night claimed that the most glamorous competition in club football had bucked the trend of recession and pulled in more money than ever this season.

Victory will be worth almost £100 million to the winners and even the losers in the match will expect to earn about £57 million. The study by Professor Simon Chadwick for the MasterCard Heart of Sports Commerce report says that the credit crunch has not affected the Champions League because of the range of evocative ties that had television viewers glued to their sofas and were popular with advertisers and sponsors.

More people have wanted to watch as a form of escapism, spending their spare money on the entertainment of top-level football, which had helped to keep the sport’s finances buoyant.

Chadwick, director of the Centre for the International Business of Sport at Coventry University, estimates that the total value of the Champions League final this season has outstripped the corresponding match in 2008 between United and Chelsea by more than £40 million to hit £272 million in ticket sales, broadcasting revenue, merchandising and sponsorship.Even the city of Manchester should benefit to the tune of about £13 million in increased tourism and business.

“The Champions League proves that major sporting events can overcome the downturn because of their emotional appeal,” Chadwick said. “Some people may choose not to travel to Rome but they will generate economic activity at home. But what comes into play is a recession premium, worth about £22 million to the overall total, with more people engaging as a result of the downturn.”