Former Arsenal chief Keith Edelman has advised new Liverpool owners NESV to come up with a plan to either build a new stadium or increase the current Anfield capacity if they want to compete with the likes of Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea. Currently even the Everton Hospitality is bigger than at Anfield.
He believes that Liverpool owners need to take one of the two options sooner rather than later. Edelman worked for Royal Bank of Scotland as a consultant for six months prior to club’s takeover by NESV.
He is of the opinion that Liverpool must increase their match day income if they want to sit amongst the European elite in future. “I think they have to generate more revenue and to achieve that objective they have to enlarge Anfield or develop a new stadium,” said Edelman. “They have to do one thing or the other. They can’t stay as they are.”
Liverpool’s Anfield stadium is an icon of English football but it has its financial constraints. The 45,362 capacity is nowhere near enough to compete with top European clubs. Manchester United 75,000+, Arsenal 60,000, AC Milan 80,000+, Real Madrid 85,000+ are well ahead of Liverpool in terms of their match day incomes.
In the financial year 2008-09, Liverpool earned a modest £42m from gate and match day income. On the other hand, Manchester United generated £109m and Arsenal earned £100.1m during the same year.
