Kieran Maguire ‘really concerned’ as Liverpool on brink of crushing £150m blow
Liverpool could lose out on up to £150million if they fail to qualify for the Champions League this season.
That is according to finance guru and Football Insider columnist Kieran Maguire, speaking exclusively after Liverpool’s quarter-final exit last night.
The 3-1 aggregate defeat at the hands of Real Madrid means Liverpool’s only path towards qualification is via the conventional Premier League route.
The deposed league champions currently sit in 6th place, three points off the pace in the hunt for a top four.
Maguire explained that failing to qualify for next year’s tournament could be financially disastrous for Liverpool.
He told Football Insider correspondent Adam Williams: “Where you’re really concerned from Liverpool’s point of view is that Champions League qualification, earns you a minimum of £40m and a maximum of £110m from broadcast revenues.
“Hopefully next season we’re looking at matches taking place in front of crowds.
“Liverpool get around £3.5m per home match in the Premier League and they will probably get more than that in the Champions League because you’re selling individual tickets rather than season tickets.
“All of these things add up. A good year in the Champions League, when they won it, for example, is probably worth £150m.
“If you replace that with the Europa League, if they got to the final they would probably only make £50m.”
Liverpool are one of the loudest voices in the clamour for Uefa to reform the Champions League.
An expanded 36-team competition is imminent which may include a controversial coefficient feature allowing teams to qualify based on historic performance.
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