CRUES GLORY SHOT: Page 52

Win that fixture and Baxter’s side will net a further €300,000 (£267,000) and face a play-off to reach the Europa League group stages.

The Euro payments are €280,000 (£249,000) for the Champions League fixture, €260,000 (£231,000) for this Europa League qualifier and a further €280,000 if the Crues can make the third qualifying round.

And every domestic champion club that does not qualify for the group stages of the Champions League is guaranteed a solidarity payment from Uefa of around €260,000.

Victory in this Europa League qualifier will see Crusaders claim one of the biggest financial windfalls in Irish League history and the club has introduced a new full-time structure to help maintain that level of success. RORY McILROY’S runner-up finish in The Open helped him leapfrog Lee Westwood and top the European Tour’s all-time career money list with a whopping £31.2m.

The Holywood star (29) was the only player to break par in all four rounds at Carnoustie and, while that was not enough for him to claim his second Claret Jug and a fifth Major, the cheque for £530,751 was enough to go past Westwood in the European money stakes.

It took Westwood 18 years to break through the £20m-plus barrier and overtake Ernie Els as the leader on the European Tour’s career money list, where Pádraig Harrington is the next best of the Irish in seventh place with £22.5m since he turned professional 22 years ago.

McIlroy (above) took just 11 years and he’s also on track to finish among the all-time top money winners on the PGA Tour, where Tiger Woods heads the list with a staggering $112,205,724 — fully $24m ahead of his nearest rival Phil Mickelson.

McIlroy is already 17th in the US career money list with $39,867,490 (£30,320,422) which means his global earnings from both Tours are now well over £60m, not including endorsements.

McIlroy was 26th in Forbes’ 2017 list of the world’s highest-paid athletes, with an income of $37.7m (£28.67m).