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The chances of Liverpool defending their Champions League title have improved after the intervention of Uefa president Lennart Johansson and other senior officials. Johansson told the 'Sunday Times', 'The winner should have a chance to defend the title ... If there is a rule that harms the tournament, we have to discuss changing the rule.' Liverpool have also received backing from G-14, the organisation of the top eighteen European clubs, although there is no love lost between them and Uefa. Liverpool will not be asked to go through the qualification process, knocking on the head the offer by Total Network Systems of a play off between the Welsh champions and the Merseyside club, which would have brought TNS millions if not dancing in their streets. Everton, fourth in the Premiership, will not lose their Champions League place. The Champions League win will eventually be worth £40m to Liverpool, although only £13.85m remains unpaid. However, the whole amount will show up in this year's accounts which should give a better financial performance than last year when the club lost £22m as turnover fell by £11m. The victory should help to boost merchandise income, although many fans were buying £6 commemorative shirts off street traders. Even so, it is expected that merchandise sales will be boosted by £3m-£4m next year, while sponsorship bonuses should give a one off boost of £1.2m. It may also be easier to selling naming rights for the new stadium for a 25 year term which could bring in as much as £100m. Liverpool are now worth an estimated £255m. Given that a private investor has (perhaps unwisely) paid £800m to buy Manchester United, Liverpool look like good value for a prospective investor.
After their fabulous victory in the European Cup, Liverpool now need a major outside investor to ensure that they can compete across the board with the Premiership's top three. Their major problem is how to fund the construction of a new stadium to replace Anfield with its increasingly insufficient 44,000 capacity. And although manager Rafael Benitez is expected to have a £20m transfer budget this summer, he has spoken about his frustration at operating in an inflated English market in which Chelsea can outspend any of their rivals. One of the difficulties the club faces is that the reluctance of David Moores to weaken his position as majority shareholder may make it harder for the club to attract the big funds they need to challenge the top three. Moores, who has been chairman since 1991, admitted after the European Cup victory that he had come close to stepping down. However, he saw off Liverpool fan and construcion millionaire Steve Morgan, whom he accused of undervaluing the club, and the triumph in Istanbul has reinforced his determination to carry on. Liverpool's finances could, of course, be further improved if they were allowed to defend their European trophy, but at the moment Uefa seem to be insisting that rules are rules. It's an odd competition when the team that has won it doesn't have the chance to defend it and the FA can hardly be expected to dislodge Merseyside rivals Everton from a place they won according to the domestic arrangements for giving out places. The Premiership contest would certainly be more interesting if Liverpool could compete with Arsenal, Chelsea and United.
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