Liverpool stand to miss out on up to £100m if they fail to qualify for next season’s Champions League, prompting fears over their ability to strengthen Jurgen Klopp’s squad in the summer.
Last season’s finalists face a steep uphill battle to remain in this year’s competition after losing the first leg of their round of 16 tie at home to Real Madrid 5-2.
And with a nine-point gap to fourth place, albeit with the first of two games in hand against Wolves this evening, the Anfield club are facing the growing prospect of Europa League football next season. That would mean their potential earnings from European competition would fall by almost three quarters.
Last season Liverpool made £89.2m from their run to the Champions League final - before factoring in TV money, which was estimated to have been about £15m even though UEFA do not publish the exact figures.
And Liverpool’s latest financial accounts, published yesterday and running up to May 2022, said they made £261m from media revenue - about 45% of their total income. While the majority of that figure will have come from Premier League earnings, the Champions League money is still a significant boost.
The club are also likely to have performance-related clauses agreed with several sponsors, with bonus payments triggered by participation in the Champions League. Manchester United, for instance, lost out on millions from endorsement agreements after failing to reach this season's competition.
And Liverpool's absence would likely have consequences in the transfer market. Klopp’s squad needs major surgery and England star Jude Bellingham is their primary target in midfield.
All indications are that the current Borussia Dortmund captain would be keen on the move - but not only is Champions League football the biggest carrot for star players across Europe, the club’s limited financial resources will impact on their recruitment.
Liverpool, who have won just three of their 11 games since the turn of the year, may also look to strengthen in defence.
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Klopp has repeatedly stated that there is not a bottomless bit of money to spend at Anfield, drawing ire from Newcastle and Manchester City following justified comments in October around the imbalance caused by clubs linked to state ownership.
City accused the Liverpool manager of “xenophobia” at the time but it was hard to argue against his point solely in terms of spending power.
Liverpool’s accounts said that they recorded revenues of £594m and a pre-tax profit of £7.5m for the financial year ending May 2022.
“The underlying strength of our financial position remains strong and we continue to operate a sustainable club which is our main objective from a financial perspective,” Liverpool managing director Andy Hughes said.
While owners FSG had been open to offers to sell the club, the latest indications are that they will now look to sell a minority stake that would lead to an investment in the playing squad.
They will also receive a boost in matchday income with capacity set to increase to 61,000 when the new Anfield Road stand is completed. The accounts showed the return of crowds last season was worth £86m.
