Liverpool’s £80m stick-or-twist explained as FSG’s Arne Slot stance emerges

Add as preferred source on Google

Liverpool are struggling under Arne Slot and we have taken a look at the potential financial implications of FSG sticking with the Dutchman.

The Reds were beaten 3-0 by Crystal Palace on Wednesday evening, their sixth defeat in their last seven matches.

TBR Football understands that Liverpool’s hierarchy and the dressing room remain fully behind Slot despite a torrid run of form.

How long that stance stays the same remains to be seen, but even with a poor season under the 47-year-old, the Merseyside outfit are expected to be fine from a financial perspective.

How much money Liverpool lose without Champions League football

Liverpool have lost their last four Premier League matches, dropping down to seventh in the Premier League table.

While still early days, there is a chance that if the Reds stick with Slot and results don’t improve, they could miss out on a place in next season’s Champions League.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
4	SunderlandSunderland	9	5	2	2	11	7	4	17
5	Manchester CityManchester City	9	5	1	3	17	7	10	16
6	Manchester UnitedManchester United	9	5	1	3	15	14	1	16
7	LiverpoolLiverpool	9	5	0	4	16	14	2	15
8	Aston VillaAston Villa	9	4	3	2	9	8	1	15
9	ChelseaChelsea	9	4	2	3	17	11	6	14

TBR Football‘s finance expert, Adam Williams, has now shed some light on how that will impact the Fenway Sports Group-backed club.

He said: “A club like Liverpool is looking at at least £45m per season in the Champions League before a ball is kicked. You get a flat participation fee of around £16.5m, and you get a payout from UEFA’s value pillar on top of that. Last season, Liverpool earned about £28.5m from the value pillar. I’ve got to give credit to Swiss Ramble, the football finance analyst, for the calculations here.

“The value pillar is based on a few different elements, including the value of the UK’s TV rights deal for UEFA competitions, as well as Liverpool’s five and 10-year coefficients.

“On top of that, you’re getting at least four home matches. In reality, it’s probably at least five, because it’s very unlikely that Liverpool don’t finish in the top two-thirds of the table. Conservatively, that’s probably an extra £25m in matchday income.

“You’ve also got performance-related bonuses. Each win is worth around £2m. Plus, you get a league ranking bonus, which goes up in increments of around £250,000 all the way up to about £9.5m. There’s plenty of other elements of the distribution system too. It’s complex, but I think with matchday, prize money and performance, Liverpool are looking at £80m per season as an absolute worst-case scenario.

“If you have a really strong season in Europe, you can be looking as high as £150m. And that’s before we get to bonuses from sponsors and so on. It’s a gold mine.”

Can Liverpool survive without Champions League football

With upwards of £150m potentially on the line, FSG should want form to improve as soon as possible.

Teams like Aston Villa are struggling from a PSR perspective, and dropping down to the Europa League this season is unlikely to have eased their woes.

However, Williams was quick to highlight how the Liverpool owners are not reactionary and that, at least for one or two seasons, they can cope without Champions League revenue.

He continued: “Liverpool can certainly afford to lose out on that much revenue for one or two seasons. It’s a prolonged absence from the Champions League that really hits you, but FSG don’t do reactionary decisions. They won’t panic and they will appreciate that this is a new team that is still perhaps searching for its identity.

“They have given huge resources to Arne Slot and Michael Edwards’ vision and it would be very, very out of character to make a knee-jerk decision.”