Arne Slot be warned: Massive cost of Champions League failure laid bare

Liverpool are in danger of missing out on the Champions League.

Finishing in the top five is likely to be good enough to make it through to European football’s top competition next season - but there are no guarantees that the Reds will even make it that high.

Defeat to Manchester City at the weekend leaves the defending Premier League champions in SIXTH - with only six wins on the board since September in the top flight.

They are four points off Chelsea in fifth at present and will need to pay attention to Brentford, Everton and Sunderland who are just behind them in the table.

The financial impact of missing out on the Champions League will be huge.

Huge costs come with Champions League failure

It’s believed the club set a minimum expectation of re-qualifying for the tournament for the 2025/26 season. A summer spending spree of £450m meant Arne Slot would have lots of new players to integrate and it’s fair to say he hasn’t yet found a formula.

The Dutchman hasn’t been helped by injuries but there will be no excuses come May if Liverpool fail to make it into the top five at the very least.

Liverpool have already earned around £83.8m thanks to participation in this season’s Champions League with the winners set to bank around £115m before television and coefficient money is doled out.

Having spent so much last summer - and with the highest wage bill in English football - the Anfield side cannot afford failure.

And a report in Football Insider now suggests that Slot’s job hinges on qualification for the Champions League.

Slot's future depends on Champions League

Under contract until 2027 we could see Richard Hughes make a change in the dugout if the under-fire head coach fails to hit that significant financial milestone.

“The Liverpool board are set to place a “serious question mark” over Arne Slot’s future if they fail to qualify for the Champions League,” the report reads.

“The Reds’ minimum expectation for this season was a top-four finish after a heavy summer spend, and failure to secure Champions League football next term would provide a huge financial blow.”

Liverpool last missed out on the Champions League back in the 2022/23 season - widely seen as one of Jurgen Klopp’s worst campaigns in charge.

That blew a £100m black hole in the club’s finances - and it’s taken them a while to recover. Having spent big last summer and with more signings required they quite literally cannot afford a repeat.

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