The Week In Football Business #4
Liverpool seal double deal, PSG make bank, and PL chief takes US role
It’s Tuesday, so that means you get another drop of what has been going on in the world of football business right into your inbox.
Free for all subscribers, The Week In Football Business will bring together some of the key talking points that have been taking place away from the pitch, and impacting what happens on it, over the last seven days.
This week we’ll be kicking off with some Liverpool news after the club secured not one, but two new deals.
If Liverpool FC is your thing, and you’ve an interest in knowing what goes on underneath the bonnet and how it all works, and what it might mean for the future competitiveness of the Reds, then consider becoming a paid subscriber to infoRED. There will be analysis, exclusive interviews, news and views on all the goings on at the club when it comes to money, and how it relates to the pursuit of glory on the pitch.
LIVERPOOL BAG DOUBLE DEAL
First up this week is some commercial news from the Reds.
The club announced on Monday that they had extended their deal with Coca-Cola, which began back in 2020, for another ‘multi-year’ stint, with the extension to focus on delivering more for LFC Women, as well as continuing to deliver ‘engaging experiences’ for supporters globally.
Ben Latty, Liverpool’s chief commercial officer, said in a statement: “We’re thrilled to be extending our partnership with Coca-Cola, with a continued focus on enhancing the matchday experience at Anfield and expanding their support for LFC Women.
“Coca-Cola has helped us deliver some brilliant campaigns over the past few years, from unforgettable matchday activations to community-driven initiatives through LFC Foundation. With this renewed agreement, we’re looking forward to creating even more moments that celebrate both our men’s and women’s teams.”
Coca-Cola, whose arrangement with the club is separate to the Premier League-wide deal that is already in place, aren’t the only company to have landed as a global partner with the Reds this past week.
US technology firm Trimble has come on board to become the club’s, as reported late last week on infoRED. The Reds will use the Trimble’s technology and expertise to maximise elements of the club’s infrastructure and operations, something that will start with the upgrading of the LFC Academy at Kirkby.
Commercial revenue for Liverpool stood at £308m for the 2023/24 season, something that will have increased by tens of millions for 2024/25, with those sets of accounts to be published early in 2026. The Coca-Cola and Trimble deals will first see impact in the 2025/26 accounts, the same as the kit deal with Adidas, which kicked off this summer.
PSG CLOSE TO $1BN FEAT - BUT STILL UNPROFITABLE
In the league stage of the Champions League last year, Liverpool reigned supreme.
With a record of seven wins and a defeat from their eight league phase game, the Reds had ensured that they were booking more than £70m in attributed Champions League revenue for 2024/25, including matchday revenue, even before they took on Paris Saint-Germain in the round of 16.
But the French champions took on all comers during the knockout stages to triumph and lift their first-ever Champions League crown, defeating Internazionale in Munich.
For the Parisiens, the success that the Champions League can now deliver financially, helped in no small part by the pivot to the more lucrative ‘Swiss Model’ shows just why it is so valuable for clubs, and how it can be leveraged.
This past week saw the QSI-owned team post record revenues for the 2024/25 financial year. The club recorded €837m in revenue, although that figure does include men’s and women’s football, handball, and judo. From an annual perspective, it is a rise of €35m, an increase that has been driven by commercial growth and the Champions League win that QSI had been chasing since 2011, and one that they had spent huge amounts previously to try and achieve through putting together a strikeforce that not so long ago contained Kylian Mbappe, Lionel Messi and Neymar Jnr.
Commercial income hit €36m, lifted by six new partners and global merchandising, while the club’s matchday revenue reached €175m, despite the Parc des Princes’ capped 48,000 capacity. PSG’s famous home is the subject of much discussion in the French capital, with its ownership by the Paris City Council. QSI had wanted to purchase the stadium but no agreement was reached, and the club are assessing other sites for a new build as they look to take control of their matchday revenue and add in new revenue-generating potential via a new arena in one of the world’s most famous cities, one that will have a significantly larger capacity. How soon that gets to be a reality remains to be seen, though.
However, despite winning the Champions League, PSG still posted a small financial loss for the 2024/25 season, highlighting how even Europe’s elite clubs struggle to turn record revenues into profit.
Football is not a place where investors make strong profits annually, not in the main anyway. Liverpool have turned themselves into a financial powerhouse under Fenway Sports Group, but for 2023/24 the club made a £57m pre-tax loss for 2023/24, a season where they didn’t have Champions League football. That was despite record revenues, and record commercial and matchday figures.
The value for investors lies in the valuation of clubs, and how well they can accrete in value over the lifetime of an investment play.
In the case of PSG, Forbes magazine valued them at $4.6bn in May, post Champions League success. Liverpool, on the same list, were valued at $5.4bn, the fourth-highest in world football.
PREMIER LEAGUE CHIEF TO TAKE US ROLE
Tony Scholes, the Premier League’s chief football officer, and who had voiced his opposition to Premier League games being played in the United States previously, is to take a new role leading a
challenger league to the MLS in the US.
Scholes is to become president of the United Soccer League’s new Division One competition, set to launch in 2028, where he will be tasked with running the league, which is designed to offer a path to the top flight not possible with MLS, which is closed to promotion, the idea being to create a meritocracy in the football system in the US.
The former Stoke City executive said: “I am thrilled to join the USL at such an important moment for the game in America.
“Having worked in football at every level of the English system, I’ve seen the power of sport and the compelling nature of games that truly matter, week after week.
“Promotion and relegation create opportunity, consequence, and emotion that capture the imagination of players and fans alike.
“The chance to help bring that model to the US, while developing high-performing leagues and pathways for players, is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
Earlier this year, Scholes addressed questions about the potential of ‘Game 39’ arriving in the near future, whereby Premier League clubs would play a competitive fixture in the United States or other major markets, much in the same way that the NBA, NFL and MLB do when they bring regular season games to other countries.
Speaking back in February, Scholes said: “Over the last couple of years we have played a number of pre-season games in the US.
“We have an excellent broadcast partner in the US and viewing figures are strong there. So I would personally say I don’t see a need to do that. And I could absolutely say there’s no conversations taking place to do it.”
Last year, Liverpool chairman Tom Werner had told the Financial Times that he was “desperate” to see a Premier League game played abroad, citing New York and Tokyo as examples. It wasn’t, however, a view shared by Fenway Sports Group chief and Liverpool’s principal owner John W. Henry who, in the same piece, said that it wasn’t something that he had any interest in the club exploring.
BACK NEXT WEEK
And there we have it, some of the key goings on away from the pitch over the past week.
Hopefully it’s been useful if you do fancy getting into the finances of Liverpool in a bit more detail, as well as all the key topics that impact the present and future of the football club and how it can compete for trophies, then do consider becoming a paid subscriber.
Thanks for reading, and there will be instalment number five next week.