Liverpool accounts confirmed with £9m loss as Champions League impact clear despite commercial gains

Liverpool has released its financial statements for the fiscal year 2022–2023.

General view of Anfield, Liverpool (Image: Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)

Liverpool reported a pre-tax loss of £9 million for the fiscal year 2022–2023, but their commercial revenues broke all previous records.

The Reds saw a £19 million decline in media revenue, a £17 million increase in administrative expenses, and a £7 million decline in matchday revenue year over year. However, commercial revenues increased by £25 million to £272 million, which helped the club’s overall revenue stay steady at £594 million.

The growth of the partnership with Nike, the company that makes the kits, and the renewal of agreements for larger sums with Standard Chartered, the primary shirt partner, and Expedia, the sleeve partner, all occurred during the 2022–2023 reporting period, are among the commercial highlights.

The club’s elimination from the UEFA Champions League at the last-16 stage, as opposed to their competition final appearance during the 2021/22 reporting period, was a major factor in the decline in media revenue to £242m. Similarly, fewer home games were played as a result of early eliminations from the Champions League, FA Cup, and Carabao Cup, which contributed to a decline in matchday revenue.

With an average broadcast audience of over 724 million viewers per season, the club is the most watched team in world football over the last five seasons, according to Nielsen Sports’ analysis.

The players that were signed during that time included Darwin Nunez, Cody Gakpo, and Calvin Ramsey. The club’s wage bill increased from £366 million to £373 million. Eleven new contract extensions were agreed upon, the most notable of which was Mohamed Salah’s new agreement, which made him the highest paid player in club history.

The pre-season tour of Thailand and Singapore last summer had a positive effect on commercial revenue in addition to new and extended deals with commercial partners. With seven new stores opening throughout Asia and over 350,000 downloads of the new LFC Store App—the first of its kind in the football industry—the club’s retail operations also saw a record year for revenue. Along with setting records for foot traffic, the year saw 2.5 million visitors to the club’s global Liverpool stores, with over 10,000 of those visitors coming to Anfield on match days.

“Since FSG acquired LFC in 2010, running this great club in a financially sustainable manner and in accordance with football’s governing principles has been our priority,” stated Andy Hughes, managing director of Liverpool.

“The strength of our underlying financial position is demonstrated by the success of our commercial operations, which allows us to continue operating sustainably while competing at the highest levels of football, even in light of the significant growing costs associated with football.”

“We can’t wait for the new Anfield Road Stand to be completed in the upcoming months. This year’s record league attendance shows how far we’ve come since we began the major capital project to redevelop Anfield ten years ago. A significant component of our overall financial sustainability model is matchday revenue. Our long-term goals depend on our ability to increase our predictable revenue streams, which allows us to keep reinvesting in order to support the goals of both our men’s and women’s teams.

“Although these financial results represent a single point in our journey, the club’s increasing global appeal is a constant, and because of our incredible support, LFC is still the Premier League team with the greatest global following. We’re excited to see our men’s and women’s teams finish as strong as possible and have more success for the rest of the season.

The club stated that staff costs have increased by 79% since 2018 and that annual operating costs for Anfield have increased by 40% since 2018. Utility costs have doubled from two years ago, and administrative expenses have increased significantly in recent years, rising from £320 million to £562 million.

In terms of digital followers during the current reporting period, Liverpool surpassed 40 million Facebook and Instagram followers as well as 8 million YouTube subscribers, making it the first Premier League team to do so. As a result, the club now has over 173 million cumulative social followers across its men’s and women’s social media channels.

After winning the FA Women’s Championship in 2022, Liverpool Women made their way back to the Women’s Super League during this time. Three players had their contracts renewed, and seven new players were added to the team. A short time after the reporting period ended, Liverpool made additional investments in the women’s team to build the Professional Game Academy and fully renovated elite training facility, AXA Melwood.

The club kept up its community service endeavors as well. The number of people supported by the LFC Foundation increased by 47% during this reporting period, from 83,000 to over 122,000. Over the course of a year, the charity provided over £32 million in health benefits and made a £5 million contribution to the local economy of the Liverpool City Region. The LFC Foundation generated a £1 social value return for every £1 spent.