For Liverpool, a major part of their business model has been built upon their ability to succeed on the pitch, especially in Europe.
Champions League finalists in 2018 and 2022, and Champions League winners in 2019, the Reds have been a force to be reckoned with on the European stage under manager Jurgen Klopp in recent years.
Last year's journey to the final in Paris, where they would eventually be defeated 1-0 by Real Madrid, is predicted to have earned the Reds around £104m according to figures presented by football finance expert Swiss Ramble, the figures including prize money, UEFA co-efficient and the club's share of the TV market pool.
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The success on the pitch in European football's biggest club competition has allowed for Liverpool to grow financially, the Reds expected to post a pre-tax profit of £76m according to analysts at respected football business website Off The Pitch, their financial forecasting predicting revenues to top £600m.
European football forms a good chunk of that, and the importance of maintaining their success in Europe is underscored by the publishing of Manchester United's financial accounts for the 2021/22 period, the Old Trafford side the first English team to post their financials for the most recent accounting period, with Liverpool's expected early next year.
There has been a notable lack of success for Manchester United both at home and abroad over the past decade in comparison to what had been seen under the stewardship of Sir Alex Ferguson until his retirement in 2013. The club haven't won a title since his departure nine years ago and have slipped behind the likes of Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester City when it comes to challenging for honours, their Europa League win in 2017 their most recent silverware.
This season they are absentees from the Champions League having finished sixth last season following a campaign of tumult.
The lack of success in the Champions League and absence from the competition for two of the last five years has seen Manchester United lag behind Liverpool in terms of their slice of the UEFA TV money pie by some £142m, with Liverpool having been able to rake in close on £431m over the past five years in European broadcast revenues compared to United's £289m.
Liverpool have been consistent over the past five years, with the 2018/19 and 2021/22 campaigns both delivering significant boosts to see the Reds just behind Manchester City over the same period but some way ahead of Chelsea (£360m) in third, United in fourth, Tottenham Hotspur (£230m) in fifth and Arsenal (£113m) in sixth from England's 'big six'.
The figures demonstrate the huge significance in ensuring that clubs maintain their performance due to it being so closely aligned to their business model and financial health.
In Manchester United's accounts for the 2021/22 financial year, which included a campaign where they finish sixth and exited the FA Cup in the fourth round, the Carabao Cup in the third round and the Champions League in the last 16, the club posted a record net loss of £115.5m for period.
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