Liverpool facing ‘£60m’ blow – ‘This would be a big step backwards’
Liverpool could lose up to £60million if they do not qualify for the Champions League this season.
That is according to ex-Everton, Aston Villa, and Aberdeen chief executive Keith Wyness, speaking exclusively to Football Insider, after Arne Slot admitted that Liverpool failing to qualify for the Champions League would have an “enormous impact” on the club.
Liverpool currently sit sixth in the Premier League table, three points below fourth-placed Manchester United, which would guarantee a Champions League spot.
The Reds have failed to defend their Premier League title, and now face a tight race to finish in the top four, having spent over £400million in the last summer transfer window.
- Read More: Liverpool players are ‘fighting’ for Arne Slot.
Champions League has ‘big impact’ on Liverpool and Arne Slot
Everton’s former chief Keith Wyness – who served as CEO at Goodison Park between 2004 and 2009 and now runs a football consultancy advising elite clubs – believes Slot would get sacked if Liverpool don’t qualify for the Champions League.
Speaking on the new edition of Football Insider‘s Inside Track podcast, Wyness states that the club will also lose out on bonuses from sponsors if they don’t have Champions League football next season.
He told Football Insider‘s Inside Track podcast: “Well, it’s not just having an impact on the club. It would have a big impact on Arne Slot himself. I think he’d get the sack. I think that they’ve really got themselves into a situation there. They seem to be finding some form.
“As I say, five places seem to be what will get you into the Champions League and Arne Slot needs to get them in there. It would be a hit of maybe 50, 60 million that they’ve probably been budgeting in the forecast right now. And that’s a big number for Liverpool.
“They were just making some big strides in terms of the revenue coming in, hitting some record numbers. And they were challenging competitors in the area in terms of revenue. It would be a big hit for Liverpool and a big step backwards.
“They’ve set themselves up in a certain business model, as we know, with some big signings on big wages. And if there is no Champions League, not only is it the revenue from the Champions League, it’s also those bonuses from the sponsors that kick in as well.”
Liverpool stars also face financial hit
Liverpool players may have to take a wage cut of up to 25% if the club ends up in the Europa League instead next season.
The club have not participated in the Europa League since the 2023/24 season, when they made the quarter-finals of the competition.
Liverpool face a challenge making the Champions League for a third successive season through the league, but they are still in contention to win this year’s competition.
Slot’s side safely progressed into the last 16 of the competition after finishing third in the league phase table.