[article]Manchester United have largely silenced the outcry by recruiting Raphaël Varane, Jadon Sancho and now Cristiano Ronaldo. Sky Sports pundit Jamie Redknapp cut to the heart of the matter recently, asking Gary Neville what he thought of the signings and pointedly adding: “I mean, you and your mates wanted to burn the stadium down last year with the Glazers!”
Chelsea spent £97.5 million on Romelu Lukaku to embellish a squad that won the Champions League six weeks after supporters took to the streets around Stamford Bridge to protest against their involvement in the Super League. Manchester City spent £100 million on Jack Grealish. Arsenal, now bottom of the table, have different problems to those caused by the Super League and Tottenham have found welcome distractions in fending off City’s interest in Harry Kane and topping the table under new manager Nuno Espírito Santo.
However, the ripple effects continue to be felt at Anfield. The European Super League may be dead but a financial super league continues to emerge, dominated essentially by Paris Saint-Germain and City. Manchester United’s commercial income allows them to be a member and though Chelsea have skilfully balanced the books, offloading academy graduates to fund incoming signings, they still have the deep pockets of owner Roman Abramovich in which to rummage around.
Liverpool sit in a tier below. There has been no extravagant transfer spending with the outlay of £36 million on Ibrahima Konaté, signalling a determination to wait in order to bolster the backline with the right player, rather than a player, regardless of the pain injuries to defenders caused in the interim.
The priority has fallen on contract renewals, hugely expensive in their own right. It is indisputable that Liverpool have added quality in Diogo Jota and Thiago Alcântara [£61 million combined], and potential in Konaté, to the squad which won the title in imperious fashion in 2020.
Salah could become the Premier League’s highest-paid player with a new contract
However, whether that is enough fuels an ongoing debate. FSG’s model of self-sustainability, and adherence to seemingly defunct Financial Fair Play rules, has brought Liverpool huge success in recent seasons with the Champions League triumph before the Premier League.
Yet as Swiss Ramble, the excellent football finance analyst, outlined this week, it is a model that has come under strain. Revenue growth has been swallowed by higher costs, including wages that have grown £197 million since 2011. They are now the second highest in the top flight at £326 million behind Man City, £351 million. It has also been calculated Liverpool could have lost around £152 million over the past two, Covid-disrupted seasons.
Such financial hits do nothing to lessen the expectation that always swirls among supporters. The demand is that they must compete and, in the main, they have done just that thanks to Klopp and clever recruitment. Still, the concern they could be left behind was, clearly, at the heart of FSG’s attraction to the Super League in the first place.
Further to the €200 million - €300 million ‘welcome bonus’ outlined in the proposals, there was the prospect of new income streams to plunder. Tap into those and FSG would continue to back the people working on the ground each day to outsmart their rivals, although sporting director Michael Edwards’s contract is due to expire at the end of this season and Klopp’s in 2024.
Outrage to the plan among supporters was unequivocal. Liverpool had won everything by being the best team, doing so with sporting integrity. Now FSG was prepared to sign up to a proposal which removed that basic principle.
Something must now change, however, if calls for increased investment in the team, or the belief Mohamed Salah should be handed whatever size contract he craves during talks on his extension, are to be answered.
Liverpool’s finances suggest there is not too much room for flexibility, but FSG should be considering how they maintain the club’s standing even if none of the immediate solutions appear particularly palatable.
Taking on debt is one way, they could choose to indulge in a financial arms race they are unlikely to win when pitted against state-owned clubs and then there is selling up, although there is no suggestion of that.
Klopp and his players led the way out of that dead end, but for FSG a crossroads now looms.[/article]