After Manchester United defeated Chelsea at home tonight to clinch the final Champions League spot, Liverpool will compete in the Europa League the following year.
After Manchester United defeated Chelsea at home on Thursday night to clinch the fourth and final Champions League spot, Liverpool now knows that they will compete in the Europa League next season.
A fifth-place finish and a spot in European football’s second-tier competition await the Reds after a season that began well but for long stretches was mired in struggle.
The goal this summer is to reassemble the squad to address the weaknesses that led to a disappointing season, but in order to qualify for the Champions League in 2024/25 and start earning the lucrative rewards associated with participation, which can exceed £100 million, Liverpool will have to manage their business against the backdrop of a decline in a vital revenue stream.
Even before a ball is kicked, the value of making it to the Champions League group stage is estimated to be around £13.7 million for competing clubs, as opposed to the £3.2 million and £2.6 million that are offered for the Europa League and Europa Conference League, respectively.
Wins during the group stage are worth an additional £2.4m, while draws net clubs about £800,000. In comparison to the £1 million and £520,000 earned by the Europa League and Europa Conference League, the Champions League’s group stage qualifying results bring in about £8.4 million. Clubs can earn up to £570,000 for winning Europa League group stage matches, and around £190,000 for a draw.
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, before taking into account the share of the TV market pool that clubs compete in and other commercial considerations.
Fourth is worth approximately £35 million, and fifth is worth £32 point nine million in terms of merit payments from domestic and international media rights.
In the best-case scenarios, including matchday revenues that would arrive for each home game, a fifth-place finish and a run to the Europa League final for Liverpool could be worth more than £50 million. The Reds’ strong UEFA 10-year coefficient, where they currently rank 10th, would add to that number.
Due to their high team coefficient rating, Liverpool may receive up to £3.7m from the TV market pool. For clubs in the group stage, starting costs for the Europa League are roughly £3 Point 2 million.
When compared to what the club has previously earned from the Champions League, receiving an additional £20 million or more in revenue from qualifying for the Europa League the following season may not seem particularly game-changing, but that sum would help mitigate the effects of the wage bill and a likely rise in amortization costs on the balance sheet by the time the next financial year is released.
Additionally, and perhaps most importantly, it’s critical to provide prospective signees with access to some form of European football, even if it isn’t the Champions League.
