It has been confirmed that Liverpool will play in next season’s Champions League should they finish fifth in the Premier League.
Despite winning just 14 of their 31 league matches so far this season, Liverpool could still qualify for the next edition of the Champions League.
Arsenal‘s 1-0 win over Sporting secured the Premier League one of UEFA’s two bonus ‘European Performance Spots’, which gives England an extra Champions League place on top of the four already allocated.
Last year, it was Newcastle who benefited from the Premier League‘s relative success in Europe, but this year it could be Liverpool.
The Reds currently occupy fifth position in the division, with seven games remaining and just a one-point buffer over sixth-place Chelsea.
Liverpool’s place is far from guaranteed. With seven points separating Liverpool from Bournemouth in 13th, Chelsea, Everton and Brentford will all be hoping to overtake Arne Slot‘s side.
Looking up the table, Aston Villa are fourth and have five points more than the Reds, while Man United are one point further away.
Of course, if Liverpool were to drop out of the top five, there is one other way to qualify for next season’s Champions League: by winning it this year.
Given the team’s current form, that seems highly unlikely.
The Reds’ chances of European success were made more improbable when they drew reigning champions Paris Saint-Germain.
Should they knock Luis Enrique’s side out in the quarter-finals, they will face Bayern Munich or Real Madrid in the semi-finals.
Importance of Champions League to finances
While the prestige and chance to lift Ol’ Big Ears is what drives supporters’ motivations to finish in the top five, the club will be focused on the potential loss of finances should they drop into the Europa League.
The 2024/25 financial year saw Liverpool post record revenues of £703 million and an after-tax profit of £8m, a significant increase on the £57m loss they reported the year previous after a season without Champions League football.
From reaching the last 16 alone of this year’s competition, it is estimated that Liverpool earned £82m, with further progress increasing that figure.
To put the Champions League‘s financial importance into perspective, it is a large part of the club’s revenue for the year. Last season, the Reds generated £703m in revenue – more than any English club.
Liverpool’s 2024/25 title-winning Premier League campaign earned them £174.9m, so success in Europe can really separate them from the rest.