Liverpool top-five failure 'could cost £120m'

Liverpool top-five failure 'could cost £120m' By Dale Johnson Football issues correspondent Published 13 minutes ago 16 Comments "The stakes are very high," Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk said after Tuesday's surprise 2-1 Premier League defeat to Wolves . The loss at Molineux left Liverpool in fifth place, which is almost certain to be enough to qualify for the Champions League. But the table is tight. The Reds have only a three-point cushion over Chelsea , who face fourth-placed Aston Villa for their game in hand on Wednesday. "Either we get it and we deserve it or we don't get it and we don't deserve it," Van Dijk said. "If you play for Liverpool , it's always been like this. It's down to us, together with our fans, to get the results we need to get into the Champions League." Beyond the sporting implications, there are huge finances at stake. Failure to qualify for the Champions League could be worth as much as £120m, according to football finance expert Kieran Maguire, who also said the Reds were better placed to weather such a drop because they are well run. 'Same old story' for Slot as Wolves 'keep fighting' Published 12 hours ago 'It's better to be chased' - the mentality of a title race Published 4 hours ago In defence of Arsenal - is criticism of Premier League leaders unfair? Published 22 hours ago 'Extremely well run Liverpool can withstand the revenue drop' - Maguire Prize money and commercial opportunities are significantly lower in the other European competitions. Uefa's financial report shows that Arne's Slot's side earned 98.1m euros (£85.3m) in distribution payments for reaching the last 16 of the Champions League in the 2024-25 season. When Liverpool were in the Europa League in 2023-24, they got just 26.8m euros (£23.3m) for getting to the quarter-finals. Winning the tournament would help bridge the funding gap a little more. Tottenham received 41.4m euros (£36m) after lifting the Europa League last season, but Chelsea were paid just 21.8m euro...