£115m Real Madrid reveal explains Liverpool's big Trent Alexander-Arnold problem as FSG mystery deepens
Today at 03:04 PM
Liverpool fans may be questioning if John Henry, Tom Werner and the rest of the FSG cohort know why Trent Alexander-Arnold’s contract stand-off has evoked such an emotional reaction in L4.
In truth, there is a very simple answer. Fenway Sports Group may employ the PR people to talk a good game, but they don’t know what it is to be a Liverpool fan with an affinity to a local boy done good.
FSG, who command a sprawling sports and entertainment empire worth north of £15bn, instead look at everything through the prism of value.
There is no room for sentiment in that model, unless of course you count cynically leveraging Liverpool’s inherent mythos to boost the brand and extract commercial income.
However, the emphasis on cold, hard capital is ironically the reason that Trent Alexander-Arnold’s potential exit, which is looking more and more likely each day, will really sting the Boston-based owners.
At 26 and the peak of his powers, the right-back is enjoying one of his best seasons in a Liverpool shirt, perhaps bettered only by his fellow contract holdouts Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk.
Salah and Van Dijk, 32 and 33 respectively, are a different proposition from FSG’s perspective.
There is – obviously – no denying they are both still operating at world-class level, but the age issue means the owners don’t want to hand a blank cheque to assets who are bound to depreciate in value.
Alexander-Arnold on the other hand would, if tied to a long-term contract, be one of the most valuable players in Europe. FSG would surely do anything in their power to keep him.
But the siren song of Real Madrid, the ultimate ‘destination’ club, may well just prove too strong.
The party line from Alexander-Arnold’s camp is that it is not about money, and there is absolutely no reason to doubt that.
But it will at least a significant factor, as it would be for almost any self-respecting professional who wants to see their value recognised by a prospective employer.
Liverpool are no paupers, of course, but Real Madrid are in a different weight class financially, and the latest news direct from the Bernabeu illustrates how stark the disparity is.
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Real Madrid have £115m contract edge on Liverpool
This week saw the release of the annual Deloitte Football Money League, which ranks and analyses the game’s biggest money-spinning clubs.
Last year’s list, which detailed the 2022-23 season, Liverpool ranked 7th in the list. Despite a growth in revenue to around £603m, they moved down to 8th for the 2023-24 season.
Real Madrid, last season’s Champions League winners, topped the list for the second successive years.
Illustrating their pulling power to superstars like Alexander-Arnold, their wage bill was a whole £115m higher than Liverpool’s – £516m compared to £401m.
However, one interesting subplot is the mystery surrounding the rise in Liverpool’s wage bill.
Despite playing in the Europa League last season, which ordinarily would deliver only a fraction of the bonuses to players that Champions League participation would, Liverpool’s wage bill has risen.
In 2022-23, when Liverpool were knocked out in the Champions League round of 16, Liverpool paid players and staff a total of £373m.
That means their wage bill for 2023-24 – a year when Fabinho, Jordan Henderson, Roberto Firmino, Naby Keita, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and James Milner all left the club – is somehow £14m more than 2022-23.
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How much could FSG spend on Salah, Van Dijk and Alexander-Arnold replacements?
Fans have rightly pointed out that the cost of replacing three players of Salah, Van Dijk and Alexander-Arnold’s calibre would almost certainly run into the hundreds of millions.
Conor Bradley, who started last night’s 2-1 victory over Lille, is an able Alexander-Arnold stand-in, although whether the Scot has the same ceiling is unknown.
Salah and Van Dijk do not have the same obvious understudies, so FSG would need to put their hand in their pockets to maintain even close to the same standards the pair have displayed this term.
Of course, it could be that two or even all three stars stay at Anfield, but FSG will have contingency plans – and preliminary budgets – for each scenario in place.
Those will be dependent on what Liverpool go on to achieve this season, with their progress in the Champions League being the main needle-mover.
A run to the final could be worth £100m all told, although bonuses to players will offset some of that extra income.
- Winner: €25m (£21m)
- Runner-up: €18.5m (£15.6m)
- Semi-finalists: €15m (£12.6m)
- Quarter-finalists: €12.5m (£10.5m)
- Round of 16: €11m (£9.3m)
- Reaching knockout round play-off: €1m (£842,669)
- League-phase wins: €2.1m (£1.8m)
- League-phase draws: €700,000 (£589,868)
Premier League prize money will bump up the numbers too, although the commercial boost only a second title in over 30 years would yield would be more significant.
Next season, Liverpool’s new deal with Adidas kicks in, delivering revenue of around £90m per season, substantially more than the existing deal with Nike.
With matchday income having passed the £100m mark in a non-Champions League season in 2023-24, the current campaign’s revenue through the turnstiles will be extraordinary.
FSG want Liverpool to be self-sufficient, so they are highly unlikely to put any money into the club to cover the cost of any player replacements, but the huge financial upwind means they may not have to.
