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Liverpool likely to take €36m Champions League hit

The authoritative Swiss Ramble reviews Liverpool's 2021/22 finances: https://swissramble.substack.com/p/liverpool-finances-202122

Liverpool swung from a £5m pre-tax loss to a £7m profit, as revenue shot up £107m (22%) from £487m to a club record £594m, but this was partly offset by operating expenses rising £85m (16%) to £612m and profit on player sales falling £11m from £39m to £28m.

Liverpool’s significant revenue growth did not directly feed into the bottom line, as expenses also grew substantially. Wages shot up £52m (16%) from £314m to £366m (another club record), while other expenses rose £36m (38%) from £96m to £132m, mainly due to the higher cost of staging games with fans.

Liverpool’s £7m pre-tax profit is the third best to date last season, only surpassed by Manchester City £42m and West Ham £12m. This sustainable approach is in stark contrast to some other leading clubs, as large losses were reported by Manchester United £150m, Tottenham £61m and Arsenal £45m (plus Chelsea £156m in 2020/21).

Like many other clubs, Liverpool have become increasingly reliant on profit from player sales, generating nearly £400m from this activity since 2015. In the early years under FSG, it was very different story, as they actually posted losses from player trading for three consecutive seasons, while they cleared out some deadwood.

The Champions League has been an important driver of Liverpool’s revenue growth with an impressive €478m earned in the last five years, around the same amount as Manchester City, but much more than other English clubs.  Unless there is a minor miracle in the second leg in Madrid, Liverpool will exit this season’s Champions League at the last 16 stage, which will hit their revenue. The SR’s model suggests that they will earn €82m, which would be €36m lower than 2021/22.

Potential investors in football clubs might note that Liverpool only managed to generate a small £7m profit despite winning two cups and coming very close in both the Premier League and Champions League.


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