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The importance of the Champions League to Liverpool

Liverpool face a fight to secure any sort of European football in 2023-24 and for that, there will be a price to pay. For the first time since 2016-17, there will be no Champions League money coming to Anfield next season and Liverpool’s turnover cannot escape the hit that is coming.

It’s no surprise that Champions League qualification is a big funding boost, but the sums involved are hughe when you consider that football clubs are medium-sized firms by the standards of the economy as a whole.  Since 2017, Liverpool have made roughly half a billion pounds through Champions League distribution money alone.

UEFA’s annual financial reports are published every March and the last five seasons on record detail that Liverpool have earned £422million from their exploits in the Champions League.

Last season’s adventure to the final brought in €119,957,000 (£106m; $131m). Although this campaign’s figure will have dropped after Liverpool were eliminated in the last 16 by Real Madrid, the latest payout from UEFA is still expected to be around the £71million mark.

Last season’s accounts showed that £87million had been earned from the 30 home games played since 2017, suggesting that every fixture staged is worth somewhere between £2.5million and £3million. Liverpool have played at least four home games in the Champions League in each of their last six seasons, with sellout crowds as good as guaranteed.

The £105million earned in prize money last season from UEFA alone amounted to 17 per cent of Liverpool’s total turnover of £594m.   Seeing that disappear leaves a significant hole in the balance sheets.

Principal owner John W Henry is not about to revise the funding strategy deployed throughout the reign of FSG. “We continue building in a responsible manner,” Henry told the Liverpool Echo last month. “We’ve seen many football clubs go down unsustainable paths.”

Champions League football has helped Liverpool become one of European football’s financial powerhouses.   It’s a ley source of funding for any top club.  £20m to £40m from the Europa League would help, but it’s not enough for a club like Liverpool..

 

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