Liverpool has been having a difficult season ever since Virgil Van Dijk sustained the season-ending injury at Goodison Park at the hands of Jordan Pickford. Since then, almost all of their first team center-backs have been out with injuries sustained throughout the campaign.
However, the threat to Liverpool’s season has extended to a place in the Champions League. The reds are currently eight points behind Chelsea, but with a game in hand, and are in 8th place right now.
Should they finish outside the top four this season, they could be looking at a financial loss worth £50 million for sure. While their sponsorship deal with Nike does not include any penalty or reduction for not making it to the Champions League, a second consecutive season outside the top flight of Europe will cause Nike to ask for reductions.
Additionally, Liverpool will be missing out on certain bonuses that Nike has in their contract with the Merseyside club. The contract is meant to be worth £30 million and will be a big blow considering the current financial climate due to the pandemic.
The club has been careful enough to include financial reductions in the contracts of players and coaching staff should they fail to qualify for the Champions League. And considering the scary drop inform that they have had to endure over their games since the turn of the year, it looks ever so unlikely that they will manage to end the season in the top four.