Liverpool CEO Billy Hogan says talks will be held on ‘amazing’ £31m financial goldmine
Fenway Sports Group (FSG) have their critics in the world of football, but what the Boston-based investment company have achieved at Liverpool from a financial...
Fenway Sports Group (FSG) have their critics in the world of football, but what the Boston-based investment company have achieved at Liverpool from a financial perspective is stunning.
As well as delivering every trophy under Jurgen Klopp – and with his successor, Arne Slot, enjoying a magnificent start to life at Anfield – FSG have also transformed the club as a business.
After taking over Liverpool for £300m in 2010, John Henry and his peers in the FSG boardroom have overseen an enormous spike in revenue and, generally, turned the club into a profitable venture.
In 2010-11, Liverpool posted a loss of £49m and turnover of £184m.
Fast forward to 2024 and the Merseysiders have posted an average annual profit of £15m over the last decade and their revenue at the last count was £594m.
Some supporters have criticised FSG’s approach to player recruitment and retention, which has sometimes been characterised as overly conservative.
But the same accusation cannot be levelled at their approach to infrastructure at Anfield and the training complex in Kirby.
FSG have spent hundreds of millions to improve the facilities and ultimately future-proof the club financially.
That has been crucial in an era when several of Liverpool’s direct rivals in the Premier League have spent heavily to improve their own facilities.
And one of the club’s most recent initiatives in this department could be set to reach new heights very soon, according to CEO Billy Hogan.
Liverpool to have ‘conversations’ about money-spinning Anfield plan
Perhaps the biggest superstar to grace Anfield in recent years – more so than Mohamed Salah or Virgil van Dijk – is Taylor Swift.
The American singer played three sold out shows at the stadium last summer as part of a tour which grossed almost £1bn in total.
The three shows at Anfield are believed to have been worth £10m to Liverpool, minus the costs associated with putting on events of that scale.
Those three dates all came in June. Next June, Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel and Dua Lipa will also play Anfield.
Whether for licensing or logistical reasons, the club is yet to host any non-football events in July.
But speaking to FC Business magazine, Billy Hogan revealed that talks were set to take place to perhaps change that.
“We think it is amazing that we can bring this calibre of artists to the city,” he said.
“The more events we can host, the better for us anecdotally, but our priority is obviously to play football matches, so our calendar is extremely tight.
“Maybe we can put on events in early July in the future. We will have conversations about that, but the concerts have been an enormous success, all made possible by the progress we have made.”
The value of Anfield to Liverpool and Arne Slot’s transfer budget
Unlike the owners of some Premier League clubs, FSG are not typically willing to underwrite huge losses in order to bankroll lavish transfer sprees.
Instead, any money that Arne Slot and sporting director Richard Hughes spend must first be earned.
That means that Anfield’s ability to generate north of £100m per season in matchday income alone is a huge step forward for the club.
For context, the same income stream was around £50m a decade ago.
But the commercial utility of the stadium is also a massive plus, with Liverpool able to use their improved facilities as a selling point in negotiations with potential sponsors.
This will be one factor behind Liverpool’s new deal with Adidas, which is set to commence next season and could generate £450m for the club over five seasons.
If the club are successful in engineering a plan to host even more events at Anfield in the coming years, they could be sitting on yet another goldmine.
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