A fifth-place finish in the Premier League would still give Liverpool a chance at the Champions League and some financial security.
Liverpool may have left it too late to qualify for the Champions League with three games left and a four-point gap separating them from the top four.
Due to some unexpected points being dropped by both Newcastle United and Manchester United, Jurgen Klopp’s team, who is currently second in the Premier League’s form table, has been able to stay in the race until the very end.
With Newcastle or Manchester United needing to lose one of their remaining games, three victories and nine points may not be enough to secure a spot in the lucrative Champions League. The fact that Liverpool is even seriously in the discussion this late in the season, given the difficulties this campaign has presented, is quite amazing, but hope springs eternal.
And even if the Reds do lose, their efforts won’t have been totally in vain.
A second offer was encouraged for Jurgen Klopp to sign a midfielder who “wanted Liverpool.”.
Liverpool was in seventh place at the beginning of March, nine points behind Tottenham Hotspur in fourth. Despite their own turmoil off the field, Spurs had managed to establish themselves as legitimate top-four contenders.
Despite missing out on the Champions League prize they so desperately want, which has grown to be a crucial component of their self-sustaining business model under Fenway Sports Group, the Reds are in the driver’s seat for fifth place and the Europa League next season just over two months later.
Tottenham have fallen apart in recent weeks at an alarming rate, forcing them to fire the interim coach who was running the show after Antonio Conte was fired. The North London side is currently in seventh place, five points behind Liverpool despite having played one more match. Unai Emery’s resurgent Aston Villa team is pursuing the North London side for a spot in the Europa Conference League.
If it isn’t the Champions League, a narrative may develop that it would be best for the Reds to completely withdraw from Europe so they can regroup without the additional distraction of Europa League matches and the added pressure on the schedule.
However, there is a sizable financial impact from the divergent paths that Liverpool and Spurs have taken in recent weeks. And it’s crucial to lessen the impact of failing to make the top four for teams like the Reds, whose ability to act in the transfer market depends on the strength of the club’s balance sheet.
After Julian Ward and Ian Graham, Liverpool loses yet another member of the backroom staff.
After fulfilling a secret £400k promise to Liverpool, Mohamed Salah quietly handed the club a contract quandary.
Even though finishing in fifth place and winning the Europa League would not be as valuable as finishing in fourth and winning the Champions League, it would still be a worthwhile effort for clubs.
Comparatively to the Champions League’s £13 point seven million and the Europa Conference League’s £2 point six million, reaching the Europa League group stage is worth £3 point two million to competing clubs.
For the Europa League and the Europa Conference League, respectively, group stage qualification results in payouts of £1 million and £520,000. Clubs can earn up to £570,000 for winning Europa League group stage matches, and around £190,000 for a draw. In contrast to the £2.4m for a Champions League group stage victory and the £800,000 offered for a tie, not to mention the £8.4m that can be won by advancing to the knockout stages, those sums are vastly different.
Champions League winners will receive about £73.3m in prize money for participating in every round, compared to £19.8m in the Europa League and £12.7m in the Europa Conference League. This is before taking into account the portion of the TV market pool that clubs compete in as well as other commercial considerations and the prize money on offer for winning individual group games.
The Champions League’s £1.08 billion prize pool dwarfs the slightly more than £400 million total prize pool split among clubs who win the Europa League. The distribution of the TV market pool among clubs also varies significantly, with about £121 million going to each club compared to £261 million in the Champions League.
A Europa League run, however, can net clubs more than £20 million in revenue, not to mention the additional matchday revenue that would accrue. With almost every competitive game at Anfield being sold out, Liverpool makes in the neighborhood of £3 million per home game.
Eliminating the possibility of up to seven home games would have an impact on matchday revenues, which for the fiscal year 2021–2022 were £86 million.
Then there is the difference between placing fifth and eighth in the Premier League, where just a few short weeks ago Liverpool and Tottenham’s fortunes were reversed. In light of Aston Villa’s current form, Spurs are currently clinging to seventh place and appear to be long shots to claim it.
When taking into account merit payments from both the domestic and international markets, the Reds would receive a sum of about £32.9m if they finish in fifth place, according to the figures for the central payments made to Premier League clubs last season. Clubs that place eighth receive around £26.8m in merit payments from the League’s two markets, where the money is derived from the sizable broadcast deals the competition has in place globally, which results in a £6.1m disparity.
This £6.81 million, along with the potential for up to £20 million in matchday revenue from the additional Europa League matches, as well as the carrot of more than £20 million for reaching the final, means that, when also taking into account co-efficient payments from UEFA, where Liverpool features in the top 10 on the list due to their 10-year performance in European competition, as well as getting a share of the TV market pool, more than £50 million is potentially at stake.
The club would have to bear the loss in revenue from the £103 million the Reds made from their run to the Champions League final last year, not to mention the extra matchday income that resulted from it, for this current season.
A strong finish to the current campaign and a strong showing in the Europa League the following year, however, can significantly lessen the potential financial impact on the club.
Additional games in European competition are beneficial for squad rotation and maintaining focus among big squads. It is also a tool that can raise the value of players on the fringe who the team might consider trading for the future.
