Here are your Liverpool morning headlines for Tuesday, April 12.
Jurgen Klopp could unleash new Liverpool front three
A third Champions League semi-final of the Jurgen Klopp era is firmly in sight for Liverpool, writes Paul Gorst.
The Reds' 3-1 win in Lisbon last week was, for around 75 minutes at least, a masterclass in how to quell an intimidating and hostile atmosphere through sheer quality.
Benfica might have hoped that a raucous Estadio da Luz would be the great leveller of the playing field when Klopp's side rolled into the Portuguese capital last week, but as it went, the quadruple hunters had far too much quality for their hosts.
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One slight mishap from Ibrahima Konate aside that allowed Darwin Nunez to pounce, it was largely comfortable for the Premier League side and as a result, it gives them a great opportunity to rest and rotate ahead of an FA Cup semi-final with Manchester City on Saturday afternoon.
Such is Liverpool's strength in depth now they are free of any long-term injuries that they will surely be able to navigate a way past the Portuguese side at home on Wednesday night without an overreliance on their main men.
Alisson Becker is still likely to keep his place in goal but it could be a good opportunity for Joe Gomez to fill in for Trent Alexander-Arnold on the right side of the defence.
The centre-back did a passable impression of his vaunted team-mate in the recent win over Watford and keeping Alexander-Arnold fresh for Wembley and its potential for 120 minutes is something Klopp will give long consideration to, one would think.
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FSG set for £3.5bn Liverpool boost
When Forbes magazine published its annual valuations of football teams in May last year it showed a remarkable leap for Liverpool, writes Dave Powell.
Acquired for £300m by Fenway Sports Group in 2010 and in a state of disarray following the ruinous regime of George Gillett and Tom Hicks, the past 12 years has seen the Reds owners benefit from investment into infrastructure and success at a time when ballooning media deals have seen team valuations soar to eye-watering levels.
In the 2021 list Liverpool were ranked as the fifth most valuable football club in the world with a valuation of $4.1b (£3.15bn). Only above the Reds in the list were Manchester United in fourth, Bayern Munich in third, Real Madrid in second and Barcelona in first. Chelsea, a club in the midst of a takeover battle where they have been valued as high as $5bn and have three parties seeking to take charge, were back in seventh in the Forbes list at a value of $3.2bn.
The valuation of Liverpool meant that they passed that of the Boston Red Sox to become the most valuable sporting team in an FSG empire that is now valued at around $10bn following the acquisition of the Pittsburgh Penguins and introduction of new partners such as LeBron James and fresh capital through the selling of 1 1 per cent of the business to RedBird Capital Partners . With the 2020 values not accounted for due to the impact of the pandemic and uncertainty that it created due to the potential impact on commercial and media revenue streams, the two year leap from 2019 for the Reds, a year when they won the Champions League and followed it up with a Premier League title in 2020, saw their value leap 88 per cent, a jump that was behind only Borussia Dortmund (112 per cent at a $1.9bn valuation) and Paris Saint-Germain (129 per cent at a $2.5bn valuation).
Such growth came on the back of progression both on and off the field and Liverpool's continued success in leveraging their global appeal. The success of infrastructure projects such as the Main Stand redevelopment as well as the Reds being a significant draw in helping to drive TV rights forward globally has meant that the £300m investment that FSG made when acquiring the club has paid off, and continues to do so.
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