Expert reveals how “smart” spending is benefiting Liverpool

Liverpool are closing in on Manchester United financially after intelligent investment on and off the field helped propel Jurgen Klopp’s side to Champions League glory last season.

In an interview on the Blood Red podcast (via the Echo), football finance expert Kieran Maguire explained how the Reds are in an increasingly-superior position over fierce rivals United as their effectiveness on the pitch continues to improve.

Liverpool were the first club to bring in over a quarter of a billion pounds last season after a successful European campaign and second-placed finish in the Premier League.

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Of the financial gap between Liverpool and United, Maguire said: “I think they can certainly narrow it.”

“If you look at the most recent results, for 2018, Liverpool were £135m behind Manchester United, and that’s a pretty big gap to narrow, but the success that Liverpool have had this season will probably have knocked off about £40-50m off that, there will have been bonuses paid by Standard Chartered and Western Union, who are the senior partners in terms of shirt sponsorship, so that will have kicked in as well.

“But I think the areas which Liverpool very much had to address the gap between themselves and United were first of all matchday income, and by getting to the Champions League final, it means Liverpool played more matches than Manchester United at home, so therefore they would have been picking up gate receipts with increased frequency, and they would have been able to charge premium prices, especially the knockout rounds, to hospitality partners, so that would have benefitted.

“But Liverpool had already managed to reduce the gap as a result of expanding the Main Stand, and they could narrow that further if they decide to go to a 60,000-capacity stadium.

“The other area, generating commercial income, is the one where Manchester United were the smartest kids on the block. The approach they took was to go to individual countries and say, ‘would you like to be our official supplier of mobile phones in Thailand, in Indonesia, and then in Japan’, and Liverpool have started to copy that model. But what Liverpool can offer partners, and what Manchester United can’t, is to be able to say, ‘by the way, do you want your photo taken with the Champions League trophy this season?’ Which is very, very attractive.”

Maguire also commented on Liverpool’s spending power this summer, explaining how the club have become adept in recent seasons at “spending smart”.

“They can sign practically anybody they choose,” he said. “If Jurgen Klopp feels there are still one or two places missing in terms of the squad, they could spend £50m-£60m on a player today, absolutely.

“Plus the fact that Liverpool don’t need to sell and players don’t want to leave. They had issues with Coutinho, Suarez and Sterling, but I don’t think those issues will arise again for a good while, so they are in a very strong position in the market.

“They could spend another £150m if they wanted to this summer but I think Jurgen Klopp is very pleased with the squad and he’s also had some absolute bargains in the likes of Andy Robertson, and Trent Alexander-Arnold, who came through the academy, and those two alone will have saved £100m.

“So it’s not just about spending big, it’s spending smart as well, which you’ve got to give the club credit for.”

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Source: anfieldhq.com