Newcastle have learned brutal Champions League lesson and £7m Liverpool advantage proves it

Liverpool wrapped up their Europa League group stage with a forgettable 2-1 defeat to Union Saint-Gilloise on Thursday evening. But before the youthful Reds side even took to the field in Brussels they were assured safe passage through to the last 16 of European football’s second tier competition thanks to a record of four wins and two draws that saw them top Group E, with Toulouse joining them in qualification. Last season was one of real disappointment for Liverpool[1].

Having gone so close to what would have been an unprecedented quadruple in 2021/22, the 2022/23 campaign saw the Reds struggle from the off, only a late rally in the season ensuring some kind of European football as they laboured to a fifth placed finish.

Missing out on the Champions League[4] and the vast sums of money that it delivers isn’t something that the club or owners Fenway Sports Group[5] want to make a habit of, and the signs so far this season are positive in terms of the Reds making a return to the top four and elite European competition again for 2024/25, with title talk back on the agenda at Anfield[6]. Liverpool have done very well out of the Champions League in recent years, with this season’s absence the club’s first from the competition since 2016.

Sums of more than GBP100m have arrived in seasons where the Reds have gone deep into the competition, reaching the final in 2022 and winning the competition in 2019. That money helped to mitigate the impact of the pandemic on the finances of the club and ensure a strong balance sheet. This season’s foray in the Europa League[7] offers financial rewards, but not at the level that the club have been used to for the previous six years.

Success in the competition is very much on the Reds’ ‘to do’ list, and the further they go in the competition the greater the rewards. But how much have they managed to bank so far, and how does it compare with Newcastle United, the club that got the better of them last season in the race for the fourth and final Champions League place? According to figures presented by football finance expert Swiss Ramble[8], the Reds have so far banked EUR24.7m (GBP21.2m) from the Europa League.

That money has been derived from a starting fee of EUR3.63m (GBP3.12m), a sum of EUR2.52m (GBP2.16m) from winning four games, with EUR630,000 (GBP541,110) achieved for each three points picked up in the group stage. Then there is EUR1.2m (GBP1.03m) for qualifying for the last 16, with EUR1.1m (GBP940,000) added to that for winning the group. Further EUR168,000 (GBP144,300) was received through undistributed amounts, spread across competing teams in line with the number of wins that they achieved.

Liverpool’s strong performances in European football over the past decade meant that the Reds have the highest UEFA coefficient ranking of any team in the Europa League this season, a sum that delivers them around EUR4.2m (GBP3.61m). The biggest financial element of the Europa League is the slice of the TV market pool that the Reds receive. According to UEFA, the estimated available amount of EUR139.5m (GBP119.8m) will be distributed according to the proportional value of each TV market represented by the clubs taking part in the competition from the group stage onwards.

The different market shares will be split among the clubs participating from a given association. Swiss Ramble estimates that the Reds have earned EUR11.9m (GBP10.2m) from this, the same sum would be received by Brighton & Hove Albion, although West Ham United’s qualification for the competition by winning last season’s Europa Conference League and not through a league positioning means that they are entitled to less. That is GBP21.2m for the Reds so far, with the potential to add some EUR18m (GBP15.4m) in prize money should they go all the way.

On Wednesday, Newcastle exited the Champions League at the group stage, a 2-1 loss at home to AC Milan seeing them end the campaign at the bottom of the group, with Milan’s three points ensuring third and the consolation of dropping into the Europa League. For Newcastle, their chance to earn any more from European football has now gone. It had been 20 years since Newcastle had been in the Champions League before this season, and 11 years since any kind of European adventure was had on Tyneside.

That mean that the club’s UEFA coefficient was weak, something that was impactful to the final sum received for the club competing in the Champions League this season. Swiss Ramble suggests that Newcastle have earned EUR33m (GBP28.4m) from their Champions League adventure. A participation fee of EUR15.6m (GBP13.4m) was only added to by one win (each worth EUR2.8m in the Champions League) and two draws (worth EUR930,000 to clubs).

That made for a sum of EUR4.9m (GBP4.21m). Bumping the overall sum up for Eddie Howe’s men is the EUR7.9m (GBP6.79m) share of the TV market pool and EUR4.5m from the UEFA coefficient. For context, Manchester City received EUR22.3m (GBP19.17m) and EUR33m (GBP28.4m) for these, respectively.

That means that Newcastle’s Champions League adventure amounted to around EUR33m (GBP28.4m), a sum that sits just GBP7.2m above what Liverpool have earned thus far from the Europa League, demonstrating the importance of prolonged European exposure and success in maximising revenues from the biggest competition in European club football.

References

1. ^ Liverpool (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
2. ^ Newcastle United suffer triple blow ahead of Liverpool clash as injury list grows (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
3. ^ Liverpool fans make brilliant Roy Hodgson point after Man City slip up against Crystal Palace (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
4. ^ Champions League (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
5. ^ owners Fenway Sports Group (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
6. ^ Anfield (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
7. ^ Europa League (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
8. ^ football finance expert Swiss Ramble (swissramble.substack.com)