TRADING PLACES
Anfield boss helps Liverpool overhaul United on and off the park
Klopp’s takeover
IF YOU thought it was bad being a Manchester United fan, with Liverpool on course for a first league title in 30 years, it’s about to get worse. Another unpalatable milestone is likely soon — Liverpool’s income could overtake United’s as early as this season, ending the latter’s 27-year unbroken streak as English football’s biggest-earning club.
In fact, all the signs are that Liverpool could dominate English football for the next decade, just like Sir Alex Ferguson’s side did after they won their first title in 26 years in 1993.
For decades, the dynasty built by Ferguson and David Gill seemed unassailable. Even given United’s rapid decline after the departure of Sir Alex in 2013, they had so much virtual credit in the bank in terms of brand value that they only need moderate performances to stay ahead of the pack.
But consistent mediocrity eventually pays a price in the bottom line. In terms of earnings,
United have always been undisputed No 1. Not for much longer. If Liverpool don’t overtake United this season, it is close to inevitable that it will happen in 2020-21, if United don’t make the Champions League.
It is hard to overstate the significance of this power shift, on and off the pitch, between England’s two Goliath clubs. United have 20 all-time top-flight titles and Liverpool are heading towards a 19th. Arsenal have 13 and no other club is in double figures or has any realistic prospect of getting there soon.
It’s potentially a seismic moment, the equivalent of United outstripping Liverpool in the early 1990s.
In the 1980s, Liverpool had been the undisputed No1 club in England and, before the Heysel disaster and subsequent ban, dominant in Europe, with their four European Cup wins between 1977 and 1984.
Ferguson famously said his greatest challenge had been ‘knocking Liverpool right off their f***ing perch.’ On the pitch, that began in 1993, when United won the first Premier League.
In financial terms, it was already happening by the late 1980s, when United were beginning to outstrip Liverpool, largely because of a bigger capacity at Old Trafford, in the days when gate money was still king.
But a burgeoning merchandising operation — United were the first to mass market retail items beyond club shirts — meant that by 1995 United had three times Liverpool’s income in this area.
The significance is clear. United’s commercial success and Ferguson’s genius allowed for 20 years of domination. It seems unlikely any one manager will ever match that longevity. Yet the parallels for Liverpool and Jurgen Klopp are mounting.
They have the platform to dominate financially. And they have a manager who may even match Ferguson in terms of charisma, leadership and eloquence.
It’s a potent mix, as United fans know. Liverpool have laid the foundations to establish a dynasty
akin to the Ferguson legacy. If that wasn’t bad enough for United, the club most likely to challenge and push Liverpool for supremacy will be Manchester City. Where that leaves United is a moot point.
The clue to this changing of the guard came this week in Deloitte’s
Football Money League, published a few days ago, which gives us the first sight of Liverpool’s financial figures for 2018-19 and allows us to illustrate how they are so close now to United’s mighty financial status. Not since 1991-92, the season before the Premier League began, has Liverpool’s income outstripped United’s.
Liverpool had revenues of £533million last season, against United’s £627.1m. But United are not in the Champions League this term and even their own financial forecasts show income will drop in 2019-20 to between £560m and £580m, dependent on how far they go in the Europa League.
A Mail on Sunday forecast for
Liverpool estimates the Anfield club will earn between £555m and £590m this season, dependent on progress in the Champions League, the FA Cup and with new commercial deals.
Liverpool’s TV money alone from Premier League central funds will rise from last season’s £152m to around £176m due to the new 2019-22 TV deal and a modified way of distribution. Winning the Super
Cup and Club World Cup each earned Liverpool £4m they didn’t make last term. Club sources point to a surge in merchandise sales since winning the Champions League last year and an increasing portfolio of international partners.
Liverpool are already guaranteed around £74m from this season’s Champions League, but that could rise to £83m for reaching the quarter-finals, £93m for making the semis, £106m for reaching the final and almost £110m for winning it. An FA Cup run to the final can earn up to £6.8m in prize money alone, plus 45 per cent of gate receipts.
If United perform only moderately in Europe for the rest of this season and Liverpool go deep into the cup competitions, their income will outstrip United’s.
Next season will be more lucrative still as Liverpool’s new kit deal with
Nike kicks in. They are expected to earn upwards of £70m a year from that, against £45m from New Balance now. And the Champions League will be ever more lucrative with Liverpool probably domestic champions by then, and hence due more cash because of UEFA rules.
In short, for Liverpool, a title win this season should only be the start of something special. For United, there is a long, hard road ahead.