Liverpool are currently top of the Premier League, and they’ve also been outperforming all of their top-flight rivals in one key off-field metric.
UEFA have published a comprehensive report, ‘The European Club Finance and Investment Landscape’, which analyses a series of financial performance indicators throughout the continent, including earnings from shirt sales.
In terms of kit and merchandising revenue, the Reds ranked fifth in Europe in 2023, earning €132m (£113m) from that particular avenue last year – more than any other team in England, eclipsing Manchester United by €2m (£1.7m).
The report itself states that the figures ‘provide probably as good a measure of club popularity as any’, duly offering a firm indicator of the disparity and devotion of Liverpool’s fan base.
Since 2020, LFC have benefitted from a lucrative partnership with Nike, with reports last autumn that an extension of the current deal could reap upwards of £70m per year for the Anfield club (Football Insider).
In addition to being one of the most widely supported teams in world football, Liverpool’s on-field success under Jurgen Klopp will also have helped to drive revenue through kit sales.
FSG don’t have the same financial muscle as their counterparts at Manchester City or Newcastle, for instance, so any reliable source of income needs to be maximised in order to continue competing for the biggest prizes in the sport.
The expansion of the Anfield Road Stand will help to increase turnover from matchday revenue in the form of ticket sales and auxiliary income such as the taking from food and drink stalls, a welcome development alongside the kit and merchandising revenue performance.
Ultimately, all that fans want is to see a team on the pitch giving everything and hopefully winning major trophies in the process, but in modern football, earnings from off-field avenues such as shirt sales are all crucial to feed into that and bolster the club’s budget.