FINANCIAL EXPERTS PREDICT £120M HIT IF LIVERPOOL MISS 2026-27 CHAMPIONS LEAGUE SPOT
Liverpool face a £120m disaster: Read about the Champions League race, Arne Slot’s anger, and the impact of the £400m summer spend.
Liverpool’s in a tight spot right now. After losing to Wolves at Molineux, they’re clinging to fifth place, usually good enough for a Champions League spot, but the cushion isn’t exactly comfortable. They’re just three points ahead of Chelsea, who still have a game in hand against Aston Villa. That race is heating up fast.
Virgil van Dijk summed it up pretty well: “Either we get it, and we deserve it, or we don’t get it, and we don’t deserve it. If you play for Liverpool, it’s always been like this. It’s down to us, together with our fans, to get the results we need to get into the Champions League.” He also mentioned that Arne Slot, the head coach, wasn’t exactly thrilled after the loss; “angry” was the word he used.
But it’s not just about pride or missing out on big European nights. There’s a lot of money on the line. Football finance expert Kieran Maguire pointed out that missing out on the Champions League could leave a big dent in Liverpool’s bank account, even if the club runs pretty sensibly these days.
UEFA’s numbers tell the story. Liverpool earned €98.1 million (£85.3 million/$114 million) just for reaching the last 16 of the 2024–25 Champions League. Compare that to the Europa League, where they only received €26.8 million (£23.3 million/$31.1 million) for reaching the quarterfinals last season. The gap is massive.
Even winning the lesser European trophies doesn’t come close. Tottenham got €41.4 million (£36 million/$48.1 million) for winning the Europa League, and Chelsea picked up €21.8 million (£20 million/$26.7 million) for the Conference League. It’s nowhere near what Champions League teams bring home.
Maguire also pointed out the other hits: fewer home match days, less broadcast cash, and sponsors that pay out less when the club misses the top tier. He reckons missing out could cost Liverpool around £120 million ($160 million). Still, he doesn’t think it’ll sink the club.
And it’s not like Liverpool have been shy about spending. Last summer alone, they shelled out more than £400 million ($534.5 million) on big names like Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak – the biggest single-window spend in football history, actually.
Even with all that, Liverpool just reported record revenues of £703 million ($939 million) for the year ending May 2025, turning a modest £8 million ($10.7 million) profit. And here’s the kicker: despite that wild summer, Liverpool ranks only eighth in net transfer spend over the past five years. They’ve been splashing the cash, sure, but they’ve kept things balanced in the long run.
VIRGIL VAN DIJK SLAMS LIVERPOOL’S SEASON, INSISTING CHAMPIONS LEAGUE QUALIFICATION IS NOT ENOUGH
Liverpool chase Champions League football, but Virgil van Dijk insists qualification is not success. We track the upcoming summer rebuild.
Liverpool caught a bit of luck over the weekend with their hopes for Champions League football, but Virgil van Dijk made it clear he doesn’t think qualifying should be the measure of their success.
Everyone at the club knows how crucial it is to get back into Europe’s top competition. It’s not just about pride. Missing out means less money, which would hurt their plans in the summer.
Finishing in the top five might look good after a disappointing season, especially since they were defending Premier League champions, but Van Dijk doesn’t believe that’s enough. He said the team can’t settle for just scraping into the Champions League.
“We’ve got five more games, and we have to get Champions League qualification done,” Van Dijk said. “But honestly, that’s not the standard I expect at Liverpool. Qualifying isn’t enough.”
Their win over Everton in the Merseyside derby snapped a rotten streak of four losses out of five, including getting knocked out of the FA Cup and Champions League. At one point, it felt like the whole season was going downhill fast.
Now, Crystal Palace are coming up on Saturday. Palace is focused on their UEFA Conference League semi-final, so this is a big chance for Liverpool, especially with Manchester United away the following week.
Van Dijk and Mohamed Salah scored at Everton, but things are changing. Van Dijk turns 35 in July and is about to start his last year on contract. Salah and Andy Robertson are leaving in the summer. That’s a lot of experience walking out the door.
The club will have to find replacements from the current squad. A new vice-captain is named over the summer. Van Dijk wouldn’t reveal his pick but said, “I definitely have my opinion, and I always share it.”
He called for players to step up. “You grow into that role, or you already have it in you. It’s time for players to show it next season.”
He added, “After the World Cup, during pre-season, the manager will decide. We just need to get this right and make sure we don’t have a repeat of this season.”
When asked about whether the squad needs a reset, Van Dijk said, “You’d have to ask the guys higher up. Leadership is falling away as players leave, so others have to step up and see what the decision-makers plan to do. I’m confident everyone wants the club to stay competitive. We just can’t have another season like this one.”
IBRAHIMA KONATé NEARS OFFICIAL LONG-TERM CONTRACT EXTENSION, SECURING FUTURE AT LIVERPOOL
Ibrahima Konaté confirms he is close to signing a new Liverpool contract, securing his future amid a major squad overhaul.
Ibrahima Konaté is set to sign a new long-term deal with Liverpool, finally putting all the rumours about his future to rest.
His contract was up this summer, and people kept linking him to clubs like Real Madrid. But after Liverpool’s 2-1 win over Everton on Sunday, Konate made it clear he never planned to leave. He’s become a regular since joining from RB Leipzig, and he told reporters negotiations with the club have been going on for a while. Now, the agreement’s almost done.
“We’ve been talking with the club for a long time,” Konate said, according to the Liverpool Echo. “We’re close. Honestly, I think everyone wanted this, and we’re nearly there. There’s a good chance I’ll be here next season; that’s what I always wanted.”
He’s just waiting for the paperwork to go through, but once it’s official, he’s sure sporting director Richard Hughes will be happy to share what Konate told him months ago.
“It’s taken a while, yeah, but that’s how negotiations go,” he added. “Just like with Van Dijk and Mo Salah last season, they signed in April. Maybe this is just how the club handles these things.”
Liverpool is set for a big summer change. Mohamed Salah and Andy Robertson are both expected to leave after nearly a decade, and van Dijk is now in the last year of his contract as he approaches 35. Naturally, there's a lot of talk about who steps up as leader in the dressing room next.
The club has already lined up some fresh faces. Jeremy Jacquet, the £60 million centre-back from Rennes, is on his way, and promising defender Giovanni Leoni is working his way back from an ACL injury he picked up last September.
Konate turns 27 next month, and he’s ready to step up and help lead the club into a new era. “I already act as a leader for the younger guys, for my own generation, everyone, really,” he said. “That’s just part of football. The legends move on, and then it’s our turn. I’ve been preparing for this for years, and especially over the last few months.”
“It’s a big responsibility, though. I can’t do it all alone. I’ll need everyone’s help.”
He also mentioned once more that he hopes people go and hear Richard Hughes’s side of the contract talks, saying, “Just wait till it’s all sorted, then ask him what I told him months ago before all the noise started.”
It’s been a tough season for Konate. Liverpool’s form has been erratic; they’ve lost 17 games in all competitions, including 10 in the league. Off the field, things have been even harder; Konate lost his father in January. He admits the last few months have been rough both personally and on the pitch. Still, he’s keeping positive and looking forward to what’s next, for himself and for Liverpool.
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