Liverpool Football Club has seen a significant surge in sponsorship revenues, with the club generating £308m through sponsorship, merchandise sales, and non-football events at Anfield in the 2023-24 financial year. This marks the 12th consecutive year that the club has set a new record for commercial income. Football finance experts predict that Liverpool’s overall revenues for the title-winning season will surpass £700m, with the club’s commercial operation overseen by owners FSG being remarkably resilient.
The club’s new kit deal with Adidas has been a major contributor to this growth, with record sales of the new home kit in August, outstripping the previous season’s launch day with Nike by 700%. The deal with Adidas is worth £60m annually, but it is reported that the club’s final take-home from the deal could be significantly higher, around £90-100m per season, after royalties and performance-related bonuses.
Liverpool’s sponsorship portfolio is diverse, with 26 sponsors in total, including Standard Chartered, Expedia, AXA, and Visit Maldives. The club’s front-of-shirt partner, Standard Chartered, is worth £50m annually, and is one of the partnerships in the financial services industry that accounts for 16% of global sponsorship revenue. The research from market researcher Ampere suggests that Adidas has increased its spending on kit supplier deals in Europe by almost £75m this season, reinforcing its position as the highest-spending sponsor across the continent’s five biggest leagues.
The club’s commercial strategy, overseen by FSG, has been vindicated by the research from Ampere, which shows that Liverpool’s commercial operation is highly sophisticated. Every pound earned through shirt sales, sponsorship deals, or concerts at Anfield is reinvested in the club, under FSG’s self-sufficient financial model. The latest facts and figures illustrate the success of this strategy, with Liverpool’s commercial income continuing to grow year on year. The club’s ability to attract and retain high-value sponsors is a testament to its strong brand and commercial appeal, and it is likely that Liverpool will continue to be one of the biggest beneficiaries of the surge in sponsorship revenues in elite football.