Liverpool and Arsenal set for multi-million payout after FSG and Stan Kroenke win £99m battle

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Liverpool and Arsenal may well end up as the top two in the Premier League once the season is out, but Arne Slot’s side have a considerable advantage in 2025. Financially, there is an even bigger gap.

Traditionally, Liverpool and Arsenal, alongside Manchester United, have made up the ‘big three’ of English football. This has arguably come with institutional and monetary advantages.

That is in part why some more conspiratorially minded fans of the likes of Chelsea and Manchester City have recently started referring to the trio as the game’s ‘red cartel’.

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And while there is no Machiavellian shadowy order ringfencing wealth for themselves in the Premier League, the histories of Liverpool and Arsenal has insulated them against commercial failure.

Both clubs – as well as United – have gone through baron spells on the pitch but have seen revenues continue to climb and generally remaining profitable.

They have still managed to negotiate enormous sponsorship deals, sell tens of millions of pounds worth or merchandise, and organise lucrative overseas pre-season tours most years.

Liverpool are expected to jet out to Japan for pre-season in 2025, for example, while Arsenal banked £8-10m after spending part of the summer in the US last summer. Both key commercial markets.

However, Arsenal’s slump on the pitch in recent seasons, which only really ended when Mikel Arteta restored them to the Champions League for the first time in seven years last season, took its toll.

The Gunners’ revenue in 2022-23, the last financial year on record, was £465m. Liverpool’s turnover was £594m. Man City, the league’s biggest earners, trousered £715m last season, for context.

The gap will shrink when they release their accounts for 2023-24 but it won’t be eliminated entirely.

However, on the whole, the two clubs have shown remarkable financial resilience since the pandemic, which eliminated matchday income and battered commercial operations.

The legacy from the seasons impacted by Covid-19 is still felt today – although Arsenal and Liverpool have just secured a major victory that has offset their losses from the era.

Arsenal and Liverpool get windfall from pandemic insurance lawsuit

Arsenal’s owner, Stan Kroenke, and Liverpool’s, Fenway Sports Group (FSG), relied on loans and credit facilities to cover costs during the pandemic, as opposed to dipping into their personal fortunes.

FSG and Stan Kroenke’s net worth

1Newcastle UnitedSaudi Arabia Public Investment Fund (85%), RB Sports & Media (15%)£750bn
2Manchester UnitedGlazer Family, Sir Jim Ratcliffe£16.2bn
3ArsenalStan Kroenke£13.4bn
4Manchester CityAbu Dhabi United Group, Silver Lake£13.4bn
5ChelseaClearlake Capital, Todd Boehly, Hansjorg Wyss, Mark Walter£12.5bn
6LiverpoolFenway Sports Group£9.7bn
7West Ham UnitedDavid Sullivan, Daniel Kretinsky, Vanessa Gold£8.2bn
8Aston VillaWes Edens, Nassef Sawiris Atairos£8.2bn
9EvertonThe Friedkin Group£6.0bn
10FulhamShahid Khan£6.3bn
11TottenhamJoe Lewis Family Trust, Daniel Levy£4.6bn
12Wolverhampton WanderersFosun£4.6bn
13Crystal PalaceSteve Parish, Josh Harris, David Blitzer, John Textor£4.4bn
14Leicester CityThe Srivaddhanaprabha Family£2.8bn
15BournemouthWilliam Foley£1.6bn
16Brighton & Hove AlbionTony Bloom£1.0bn
17SouthamptonSport Republic, Katharina Liebherr£1.0bn
18Nottingham ForestEvangelos Marinakis£0.5bn
19BrentfordMatthew Benham£0.4bn
20Ipswich TownGamechanger 20 Ltd.£0.3bn
Estimated net worth based on reliable sources as of 03/01/24

They also lent on their insurers, although not to the extent that they would have liked.

Now, however, FootBiz report that Arsenal and Liverpool have landed a multi-million windfall relating to a business interruption claim against the insurers Allianz, Aviva, CNA Insurance, Zurich and Liberty

During the pandemic, Covid-related payouts were capped at £2.5m. But Arsenal, Liverpool and five other clubs were claiming almost £99m in extra damages.

Aston Villa, West Ham, Tottenham, Leicester and Brighton previously dropped out of of the case after agreeing to settle.

Liverpool and Arsenal remain and, the report outlines, have therefore received an additional windfall.

How much can Liverpool and Arsenal spend in the January transfer window?

Across the Premier League, several clubs are feeling the strain in terms of PSR, or Profit and Sustainability Rules.

Liverpool and Arsenal, however, are not among that number.

But the capacity to spend under the Premier League and UEFA’s rules is secondary to the whims of the clubs’ owners, FSG and Kroenke.

There is a school of thought that both ownership regimes are gearing up to taper their spending on recruitment and retention.

Both owners ultimately want their clubs to be self-sufficient and, ultimately, to be able to sell them for a massive profit.

Both have secured that already, but they think their is more upside to be achieved. Demonstrating that they can generate profits is a major part of that.

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On Liverpool’s part, that may be partly why they appear to have thought they cannot afford to bow to the contract demands of Mohamed Salah, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Virgil van Dijk in one swoop.

That is not to say that neither Arsenal not Liverpool will not spend this January, but it is not expected that either will make fireworks.

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