“For Newcastle, there is no ceiling. Congratulations. Different clubs have ceilings.
Liverpool has spent almost £135 million on the acquisitions of Cody Gakpo, Alexis MacAllister, and Dominik Szoboszlai since Jurgen Klopp uttered those statements. Clearly, other teams besides Newcastle are able to make significant purchases in the transfer market.
Dan Ashworth was referring to Newcastle’s objectives rather than the team’s financial resources when he said there was “no ceiling,” something Klopp overlooked at the time. In reality, the sports director stated in the same series of interviews from last October that Financial Fair Play limitations made Newcastle’s transfer spending ‘unsustainable.
Even though Newcastle recently announced the signing of Sandro Tonali for over £55 million, it may seem overly dramatic to argue that FFP continues to limit what the Magpies can and cannot accomplish. Newcastle can’t just act like the ‘richest club in the world,’ as they claim to be. At least not yet.
Howe himself has stated that because Newcastle is not a large salary payer in the Premier League, “the big clubs will all dwarf us,” and because of this, “it is difficult to attract the very best players on the market.” Due to the wage structure of the team, James Maddison, for example, will make more money at Spurs than he would have at Newcastle. Newcastle might have increased Szoboszlai’s pay while he was still at RB Leipzig, but Liverpool are also paid differently. The most recent set of Liverpool’s financial records showed that in 2021–2022, only Manchester United had a greater pay bill.
These accounts, however, also made £594 million in club records, which were the real reason behind Liverpool’s FFP operation. To put that sum into perspective, consider that it is more than three times what Newcastle produced during the same time period (£180m).
An increase in commercial income of £247 million, with eight new sponsorship deals announced during that time, played a key role in Liverpool’s enormous turnover. Newcastle’s commercial revenues more than doubled to £26.5 million in 2021–22, yet this was still a drop in the bucket. Even though Newcastle finished fourth, four points ahead of Klopp’s team, the Magpies still have a significant amount of ground to make up off the field after years of Ashley’s neglect.
When it comes to altering commercial dialogues with partners and increasing hospitality revenues, finishing in the top four will be a game-changer. However, in the years to come, becoming a permanent fixture in the Champions League will be the ultimate goal to completely unleash those revenue boosters. For instance, Liverpool has occupied the top spot in Europe each of the previous five years, winning the championship in 2019 and making it to two finals. The Reds have taken full advantage of the accompanying business prospects.
Along with trading successfully throughout that time, Liverpool has recently had a net spend that compares positively to that of its competitors. Through the sales of Sadio Mane, Takumi Minamino, Neco Williams, and Ben Davies last summer, Liverpool earned almost £59.5 million. Further back, notable players like Danny Ings ($18 million), Rhian Brewster ($18 million), Dominic Solanke ($19 million), and Christian Benteke ($27 million) were all sold for high prices. Who could forget the £105 million profit Liverpool made in 2018 when they sold Philippe Coutinho to Barcelona?
In comparison, Newcastle waited four years for an eight-figure transfer price to be raised before Chris Wood’s loan move to Nottingham Forest became a permanent transfer. Being a competent trader would help the team sign more players like Tonali, while it is not very attractive. raise that ceiling as well.
