Liverpool clash with Manchester United presents FSG…

Liverpool clash with Manchester United presents FSG with valuable opportunity

For Premier League clubs the scope to earn extra broadcasting revenues on top of the already hugely lucrative deals that are in place for both the domestic league competition and European competition is narrow.

The value of the Premier League rights globally will likely breach the £10bn mark for the next cycle after the domestic deal with BT Sport, Sky TV and Amazon was renewed at the same price but boosted by a rise in key markets such as the US, which paid £2bn for the next cycle to be shown on NBC and its Peacock subscription service.

For the likes of Liverpool, competing in the Champions League, there is access to another pot of money through UEFA's own TV deals that are in place that clubs get a slice of. The next three-year cycle for UEFA that covers the Champions League, Europa League and Europa Conference League is expected to deliver around £12bn in revenues, demonstrating the global appeal that the European game at the elite level holds.

Liverpool jet off on their first long-haul pre-season tour since their trip to the US in 2019 this summer, heading to Southeast Asia, taking on Manchester United at the Rajamangala Stadium in Thailand on July 12 before heading to the National Stadium in Singapore three days later to face Patrick Vieira's Crystal Palace.

It will be a hectic period on and off the field for the Reds as the club aims to meet some of its commercial obligations to partners that hasn't been possible for the past two years, as well as appealing to potential new partners and growing the the brand in a major market where it already has a strong foothold.

Pre-season is a time that can be lucrative for Premier League clubs, with Manchester United placing the value of their 2019 trip to Australia at just shy of £13m in their audited accounts for that financial period. For Liverpool, the trip to Thailand and Singapore represents a chance to deliver millions of extra income at a time when competitive football is still some weeks away.

The game with United in Bangkok is one that will hold great interest for the global fan base. A match taking place on foreign turf in a market where Liverpool and their bitter rivals dominate - and where new players such as Darwin Nunez, as well as a new manager in Erik ten Hag, will be on show. It all helps add some spice to what is just a pre-season friendly designed as a tune-up for players ahead of the season.

Nothing really rides on the result, although the victors will take home the Bangkok Century Cup, but that doesn't stop the game itself having significant financial value to the two clubs, with the clash set to be beamed into homes in more than 100 markets around the world.

Global sports management giant IMG was appointed to sell the rights for the match, with the UK and Thailand markets that were excluded from the sale. Liverpool will show the game, as with all their other pre-season games, on their in-house subscription platform LFCTV.

But the sale of rights globally for the friendly will deliver some funds into the club, one of the reasons why playing matches such as these abroad can be so lucrative when allied with the other commercial activities that can be undertaken, plus the importance of giving a global fan base some access to live action and see their heroes in person.

IMG senior vice-president Dale Levin said: "There will be great interest in the match and we expect that it will be broadcast in more than 100 markets globally. Both teams are very popular in the region and have tremendous followings in Thailand so the atmosphere in the stadium will no doubt be fantastic. Our expertise in TV production will ensure a high standard of production values for broadcasters around the world."

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