Kieran Maguire: Liverpool miss out on £4m-a-year boost amid ‘uproar’
Liverpool have lost out on an extra £4million per year after Uefa scaled down plans for an expanded Champions League.
That is the view of finance guru Kieran Maguire, speaking exclusively to Football Insider about the financial impact of the post-2024 format for Europe’s premier club competition.
Plans to add four teams to the tournament were originally set to see competing sides play 10 group stage matches in a Swiss-format system.
But as reported by BBC Sport on Tuesday (10 May), the number of group games has now been reduced to eight.
Maguire explains that there may have been “uproar” among Liverpool’s domestic rivals about the possibility of having to scrap the League Cup to make way for the 36-team Champions League.
“From Liverpool’s point of view, they are missing out on one home game,” he told Football Insider’s Adam Williams.
“They would generate £3m to £4m from an extra home game. So that’s where we are at the moment. But in the grand scheme of things, they will still be playing more football.
“I think the issue is that there would have been some uproar in terms of the abolition of the League Cup to find space on the calendar. That is open for discussion.
“If the EFL get their way in terms of a bigger share of TV rights, we could see them give up the League Cup. I think that would be a shame.”
Liverpool will contest the final of the Champions League against Real Madrid in Paris on 28 May.
Jurgen Klopp’s side beat Chelsea on penalties on Saturday (14 May) to claim the FA Cup.
In other news, pundit suggests Liverpool may have “surprise” signing “in the pipeline” after £80m-plus Mohamed Salah reveal.