Liverpool considering £20m off-pitch deal but it could be blocked amid Man City row

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The rivalry between Liverpool and Man City has taken place behind the scenes as much as it has on the pitch, with FSG and City’s Abu Dhabi owners not seeing eye to eye on many matters.

At one point, Liverpool even paid a £1m settlement relating to allegations that they had hacked into Man City‘s scouting system.

More recently, what had been a relatively private row that only interested industry types and suits about the Premier League’s commercial regulations has now become a public talking point.

Liverpool were one of a handful of clubs that gave evidence against City in their recent legal challenge to the Premier League’s associated party transaction (APT) rules.

That has not gone down well with City, whose supporters erected a billboard reading ‘Richard’s Masters’ accompanied by Liverpool’s badge among other clubs at Premier League HQ earlier this week.

That jibe, a reference to Premier League CEO Richard Masters, was indicative of a wider anxieties among the City fanbase about a so-called ‘red cartel’.

Incidentally, both Man City and the Premier League are claiming victory in the APT case, although most experts agree that the truth lies somewhere in between those two binary poles.

What is beyond doubt however is that the Premier League has been forced into at least partially rewriting its APT rules, with implications for PSR (Profit and Sustainability Rules).

And the fallout from that could have an indirect knock-on effect on Liverpool’s pre-season plans next summer.

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Premier League clubs could veto controversial proposal

Next summer, Man City are set to take part in the first edition of FIFA’s expanded Club World Cup in the United States.

When Liverpool won the Club World Cup in 2019, it was a stripped back affair in which they had to win just two games to lift the trophy.

If City go all the way next summer, they will have played seven matches in total.

While that event between June and July is ongoing, Liverpool will be making the final checks ahead of their pre-season plans for 2025-26.

According to recent stories, Liverpool have been invited to join the Premier League Summer Series, the officially sanctioned pre-season tournament with a prize fund of around £20m.

However, the Daily Mail are now reporting that the Summer Series is now in doubt as no clubs have yet agreed to sign up to it.

What’s more, there is concern among some clubs that the Premier League would effectively be giving clubs like Liverpool a PSR boost via prize money at a time when there is civil war over that very issue behind the scenes.

Premier League clubs will vote on the Summer Series, and if one-third or more oppose it, that will veto the tournament entirely.

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The true value of pre-season tours to Liverpool and FSG

Anecdotally, it is said that Liverpool can earn as much as £10m from a pre-season tour.

That is not lightyears away from what FIFA are now expected to be able to offer Man City in prize money for the Club World Cup.

However, the true value of a pre-season tour for a commercial juggernaut like Liverpool is more difficult to quantify.

They will often benefit from official tour sponsors, a cut of gate receipts and promoter fees, as well as local merchandise sales.

But Liverpool’s chief commercial officer Ben Latty will tell you that perhaps the most valuable aspect of a pre-season tour is brand awareness and exposure.

That helps to turn overseas fans who might only occasionally engage with the club into potential regular consumers, either indirectly through media engagement or directly through merchandise sales.