View: Liverpool pre-season tour perfect chance to improve £272m commercial benchmark
Liverpool owners FSG have proven their financial acumen over the years as the Reds have become one of the most financially stable clubs in football.
All decisions made by the owners are in line to capitalise on the Reds’ brand strength and increase revenues across the board, and the pre-season tour of the USA is no different.
Liverpool CEO Billy Hogan told The Athletic (29 July), how the club views North America as the perfect market to expand the club.
He said: “It’s an incredibly important market and one that we still think has tremendous opportunity for growth.
“Having grown up here, when I was a kid, it was very difficult to be able to find football widely available on TV on a regular basis. Now you’ve got an entire generation of kids growing up watching the Premier League with NBC Sports as our broadcast partner here. And with the World Cup coming up in 2026, there’s a big opportunity for the sport to keep growing in popularity.”
Liverpool are one of the biggest football clubs in the USA
A route into the USA was always going to be inevitable when FSG took charge of the Reds in 2010, they already owned Major League Baseball team the Boston Red Sox, based in the same city as the FSG headquarters, and founders John Henry and Tom Werner are natives of Illinois and New York.
Liverpool have returned to North America for the first time in five years to increase the £272m commercial income announced for the 2022/23 financial year, which is now the club’s main source of income.
FSG have been scrutinised by large parts of the fan base for their sell-to-buy mentality and eagerness to end the transfer window with a positive net spend.
The Reds are not the same side that John Henry inherited in 2010 and the needs of the side have become more demanding, despite winning the Carabao Cup last season, Liverpool have not laid down a significant title challenge since the 2021/22 season and now risk falling behind Arsenal as well Manchester City at the top of the Premier League.
FSG undoubtedly run Liverpool like a well-fueled machine, the decision to take Arne Slot’s side to the USA is backed by data.
Liverpool have 24 million supporters in the USA, including 67 supporter clubs across 35 states, and they sell more kits in the USA compared to any other market with merchandise sales showing a 14 per cent annual growth.
The numbers make for great reading but mean nothing to Liverpool fans unless the financial backing is evident on the pitch as the Reds enter another transfer window in need of recruits.
FSG proved they had the money available when the club tabled a £111m bid for Moises Caicedo last summer (BBC Sport, 11 August 2023) and more of the same will be needed this summer if Liverpool are to return to the Premier League summit.
In other Liverpool news, the Reds respond to £11.8m Marseille bid for Wataru Endo.
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