Liverpool surpass significant milestone as 2025/26 Champions League earnings revealed | OneFootball

Liverpool’s progression to the Champions League quarter-finals this season has seen them surpass a significant historical milestone.

For the second year in a row, the Reds’ European ambitions were thwarted by eventual trophy winners Paris Saint-Germain, with Arne Slot’s team progressing one round further than they had in 2024/25.

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Thankfully, the Dutchman’s successor will have the opportunity to lead LFC in Europe’s primary club competition again next term, with the Merseysiders scraping the fifth and final Premier League berth for the tournament.

How much did Liverpool earn from 2025/26 Champions League?

As reported by The Athletic, Liverpool earned £95.3m in prize money from this season’s Champions League, the fourth-highest of any club behind only the two finalists (PSG and Arsenal) and semi-finalists Bayern Munich.

The six Premier League participants earned a combined wealth of just under £515m from their participation in the tournament, with each of them involved in the round of 16 (although only the Reds and the Gunners progressed further than that stage).

The Merseysiders’ earnings from this season have seen them surpass the €1bn (£866.7m) mark from prize money in UEFA competitions since 1999, with 11 clubs having now crossed that lucrative threshold.

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It shows why Champions League qualification is essential

While finishing fifth in the Premier League this term is rightly regarded as a massive underachievement for a Liverpool team who began the campaign as champions and favourites, its importance in securing Champions League qualification for 2026/27 can’t be overstated.

When the Reds reached the Europa League quarter-finals two years ago (the equivalent stage of their Champions League progression this season), their prize money was just €31m (£26.9m, via Liverpool World) – not much more than a quarter of what they got for their efforts in 2025/26.

With England now routinely having at least five participants in Europe’s primary club tournament, we simply couldn’t afford to have missed out on qualification and run the risk of seeing domestic rivals blitz us financially.

Playing in the Champions League gives LFC greater financial muscle to spend big on new signings, whilst the prestige of being involved in the competition also makes it easier to attract players who might otherwise reject a move to Anfield outright.

Liverpool survived one season away from the top table in 2023/24, but the risk of missing out once is that it might trigger a prolonged period away from the tournament, as we know from qualifying only once between 2010 and 2016.

The Reds may have stumbled over the line to qualify for the competition, but for now, all that matters is that they’re in it for next term.