Liverpool may have reached the final of the Europa League last season, but the money made from that run still paled into insignificance compared to Champions League earnings.
The Reds enjoyed a memorable march to the final under Jurgen Klopp, defeating Man United, Borussia Dortmund and Villarreal en route to the showcase event in Basel.
Their defeat to Sevilla was tough to take, but they did still earn £34.2 million for finishing as runners-up, according to UEFA’s publication of European prize money in 2015/16.
While this was undoubtedly a healthy amount of money to receive, it is still in stark contrast to the rewards on offer in the Champions League.
Man City, who were defeated in the semi-finals by Real Madrid, took home over double Liverpool’s winnings (£75.8 million), despite being eliminated one stage earlier than the Reds.
Interesting, City even earned more than eventual Champions League winners Madrid (£72.3 million), due to the big-money deal British clubs have with BT Sport.
Further proof of the Champions League‘s importance is Juventus, who pocketed £68.9 million despite going out in the last-16.
English clubs Europe TV money in last 5 years: #CFC €253m, #MCFC €222m, #AFC €177m, #MUFC €159m, #LFC €77m, #THFC €41m. (6/6) pic.twitter.com/nuX7irT0nJ
— Swiss Ramble (@SwissRamble) November 2, 2016
Chelsea and Arsenal made £62.5 million and £48.3 million for their respective efforts, while Man United received £34.4 million and an extra £3.4 million, having dropped into the Europa League.
Liverpool have only appeared once in Europe’s premier club competition since 2009/10, and that was a short-lived attempt at glory under Brendan Rodgers in 2014/15.
The Reds failed to get past the group stages that season, winning just one of their six matches, in a group containing Madrid, Basel and Ludogorets.
Not being in the competition has hurt the club badly, in terms of finances and being able to attract top players, and they must return to it sooner rather than later.
Although not many tipped them for a top-four finish in the Premier League at the start of this season, Klopp’s side have made a tremendous start.
Liverpool are joint-top of the table with Man City and Arsenal after 10 games, and it would now be deemed a big disappointment if they weren’t playing Champions League football in 2017/18.
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