The top four clubs in England are set to enjoy a new European pay-day that could enable them to move even farther ahead of their domestic rivals.

The cost of the UK broadcasting rights for the Champions League is expected to rise by more than 25 per cent, and much of that will be passed on to those English clubs that qualify for the group stage of the competition.

Uefa's deadline for bids for the rights passed today with the BBC, ITV, Sky and Setanta all understood to have made bids.

Arsenal, Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool earned between £15 million and £27m from their share of TV rights, sponsorship cash and prize money last season.

The current ITV and Sky deals are understood to be worth just under £90m a year, and it is thought that the successful bidders will have to pay around £125m to clinch the next deal, which is to run from 2009 to 2012.

That would earn the English clubs between £20m and £35m, or even more if less than four make it to the group stage.

The additional match-day revenue from tickets and merchandise sales would mean the disparity between those clubs who qualify for Europe's elite competition and the rest of the Premier League will increase.

However, Dan Jones, partner in the Sports Business Group, said any extra disparity will be offset by the huge value of the Premier League television contracts. The current deals, which run until 2010, are worth £2.2bn.

"It is going to mean more money for those clubs participating in the Champions League, although it is not an exact relationship between the value of the broadcasting deals and the clubs' income," Jones said.

"It does mean that the gap between those in the Champions League and the rest will grow, but the extent of that will be very much offset by the increase in Premier League rights, which is spread across all 20 clubs.

"I don't expect it to make a massive difference to our domestic market because there is already a gap, and that should not change dramatically."