Revealed: Why Klopp payments and FSG debt call mean Champions League remains key for Liverpool
The Reds' latest financial figures are typically strong, but their ability to spend in the transfer market still relies heavily on making Europe's premier cup competition.
There can be no clearer indication of the importance of Champions League football to Liverpool’s bottom line than the fact that the modest profit made in a Premier League title-winning season would have turned into a heavy loss without it.
The club have today reported profits of £8m for the 2024-25 campaign, but would have found themselves £52m in the red if not for a £60m boost in media revenue caused by the step up from the Europa League.
Given the biggest loss recorded under Fenway Sports Group - and indeed in the club’s history - was the £57m of 2023-24, it is clear why they are so keen to avoid falling into Europe’s second-tier competition.
Liverpool walk this tightrope between profit and loss despite being the highest-earning Premier League club on this year’s Deloitte Money League, with revenues of £703m placing them behind only Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain.
And that owes much to the fact that spiralling costs tend to soak up many of the gains, with staff costs one of the biggest culprits this time.
Those expenses went up £42m last year, partly due to lucrative contract extensions for Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk and bonuses paid out for winning the title.
It is understood that continued termination payments for Jurgen Klopp and his staff worth an unspecified amount (they totalled £9.6m in the last accounts) are also a factor.
Meanwhile, the wage bill looks primed for further growth, with departures of the likes of Trent Alexander-Arnold, Luis Diaz and Darwin Nunez having been firmly offset by big-money additions in Hugo Ekitike, Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak.
A smaller role is played by administration costs, though a 286% rise in business rates and 107% jump in utility costs over the last four years has certainly been felt.
These numbers will perhaps fuel fears among fans that Liverpool will claim they need to cut their cloth accordingly were they to miss out on the Champions, despite the fact it is crucial the rebuild started last summer is finished this time around.
