For Liverpool, the Champions League has been an enormous source of revenue in recent years.
When the Reds won European football's elite club competition in 2019, their run to the final and subsequent lifting of the famous trophy they raked in £113m for their efforts, something that was a major factor in the club posting record revenues of £533m for the 2018/19 accounting period.
Last year's struggles in the league had created some concern that the Reds, Premier League winners in 2020, wouldn't even make the top four following a wretched January.
But despite a relative lack of investment in the January window manager Jurgen Klopp was able to navigate his side through choppy waters to a third place finish, ensuring that the Reds would gain access to a competition worth a minimum of £50m in prize money and media rights before a ball was even kicked.
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The strength of the Champions League has been what has enabled the biggest clubs to keep on widening the gap in their domestic leagues as the media rights and prize money offer them a revenue stream that others simply can't tap into.
But despite that success the biggest clubs had become frustrated at not being granted a bigger slice of the pie when it came to how revenues from media rights were dished out, believing that it was they who were the ones who were truly driving the value of the competition and its appeal to broadcasters and commercial partners. And that is where the attempted formation of the European Super League, of which Liverpool were a part, was born from.
And, in a move that will likely placate some of the issues that the 12 clubs who were involved in the project may have, included the three who remain wedded to the idea - Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus - the Champions League looks set for even greater revenues, with the chance to enhance the balance sheets of the biggest and most successful clubs improving further.
For Liverpool owners Fenway Sports Group the Champions League money that wasn't there in the early part of their reign has now become a valuable, and almost relied upon source of income that enables them to continue to invest in success. And while the perceived lack of transfer spend is a criticism often levelled at FSG, the wage bill has seen huge growth since Liverpool became established as part of the Champions League elite in recent years.
That wage bill, which stands at £325m and was the second highest in the Premier League for the 2019/20 accounting period, will only rise further thanks to new deals for a host of stars and the potential extension of Mohamed Salah's contract.
And that is why remaining as part of the group that challenges for the very top honours is vital for FSG, even if it will mean them having to invest in new blood sooner rather than later.
Klopp's deal runs out in 2024 and he has been non-committal over extending his Anfield stay, with some believing he could choose that date to end his time at the club, although nothing has been set in stone. If it is the case of having to find someone new then FSG would face an unenviable task of replacing one of the greatest managers of the modern era.
But whatever happens on the managerial front FSG will have to ensure that they keep the club on track to be delivering success year after year, especially if they are to avoid being totally left behind by Manchester City and allowing the likes of Newcastle United and their new-found wealth to make gains in seasons to come. And a large part of that is down to just how valuable the Champions League is set to be.
At present, and discounting the media revenues, English clubs can make up to £125m from the Champions League, and that is through prize money alone.
UEFA have put out the tender for third parties to bid on who represents them to seek new rights, with the successful bidder set to help European football's governing body with finding as much as a 40 per cent rise in annual revenues, according to The Times.
The next media and commercial rights cycle, which will run from 2024, is expected to be worth €5bn (£4.1bn) per season, up from the £3bn that it currently stands at. While that rise will also include extra revenues for the Europa League and Europa Conference League, it is the Champions League that will be the beneficiaries of the lion's share of the funds. And that is good news for the biggest clubs, less so for those who find themselves on the outside.
The Champions League's new 'Swiss Model', where 36 teams will qualify instead of the current 32 and the format will change to 10 matches in a single league, where seeding will work out opponents, means that there will be more games to be screened globally, ergo making more money for those featuring. For Liverpool and the rest it promises to be enormously lucrative and offers huge potential for revenue growth, softening the blow caused by the humiliation of the failed ESL plot.
Whatever happens with who is in charge in 2024 and which players are leading the forward line, FSG will need to be acutely aware that they have to remain challenging every single season. A drop in standards would prove more detrimental than ever before from 2024.
