Kieran Maguire issues ‘£314m’ reveal as Uefa rebellion leaves Liverpool at risk
Liverpool would be worse off if Uefa moves away from the coefficient model of financial distribution.
That is the view of finance guru Kieran Maguire, speaking exclusively to Football Insider about possible changes to how European football’s governing body allocates its cash.
The Times reported on Tuesday (23 August) that rebel clubs in the European Club Association have banded together to lobby for a more equitable Champions League distribution model.
Around 30 per cent of the central pot in the Champions League is awarded to teams based on their 10-year Uefa coefficient, which is calculated according to performance in the competition.
Liverpool won the Champions League in 2019 and have finished runners-up twice in the last five seasons, including in 2021-22.
Maguire insists that the Merseysiders will be determined to maintain the “status quo” to keep the Uefa payouts high in order to fund their £314million-a-year wage bill.
“I think Liverpool would be delighted to keep the status quo,” he told Football Insider’s Adam Williams.
“They regularly get to the advanced stage, so their European coefficient is high and that is reflected in their coefficient payments.
“It is done in increments of 32, i.e you get one 32nd of the total prize money if you are bottom of the coefficient and two 32nds if you are second-bottom and so on.
“Liverpool would be in the top half-dozen, so they’d be getting 26 or 27 times as much as the sides at the bottom.
“They would want that situation to continue, especially given that they have a £314m wage bill to fund each year.”
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