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Liverpool supporters do not need reminding what an incredible season it was on the field – a sixth European Cup and a club-record 97 Premier League points are testament to that.

Little wonder, then, that there will have been many a glance cast in envy from down the East Lancs Road at Old Trafford.

Alex Ferguson may have achieved his famous aim of knocking Liverpool off their perch during his 26-year reign at Manchester United.

But the Fergie glory years are a distant memory and it is their greatest rivals, under the expert management of Jurgen Klopp, who are now in the ascendency.

Not that it will be much comfort, but United remain a step ahead of Liverpool off the field.

For the 2017-18 season, the Red Devils announced record revenues of £590m.

That was £135m more than Liverpool, whose own record turnover of £455m helped the club post a world-record pre-tax profit of £125m.

The Reds ploughed those profits back into the squad, in the form of big-money signings like Alisson Becker, and new contracts for the likes of Mohamed Salah.

(Image: Getty Images)

It was a move that paid huge dividends as Klopp’s men went one better than 12 months earlier by winning this season’s Champions League.

The run to Madrid was worth £98m in television money alone to Liverpool, which combined with the £152m in TV income from the Premier League, ensured the club became the first to receive more than a quarter of a billion pounds from the revenue stream.

And it is those figures, the real possibility of a huge new kit deal, and the proposed, continue expansion of Anfield, that leads leading football finance expert Kieran Maguire to state that the Reds are closing the gap on United off the field – having left them trailing in their wake on it.

“I think they can certainly narrow it,” said Maguire, who was speaking on a special Blood Red podcast.

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“If you look at the most recent results, for 2018, Liverpool were £135m behind Manchester United, and that’s a pretty big gap to narrow, but the success that Liverpool have had this season will probably have knocked off about £40-50m off that, there will have been bonuses paid by Standard Chartered and Western Union, who are the senior partners in terms of shirt sponsorship, so that will have kicked in as well.

“But I think the areas which Liverpool very much had to address the gap between themselves and United were first of all matchday income, and by getting to the Champions League final, it means Liverpool played more matches than Manchester United at home, so therefore they would have been picking up gate receipts with increased frequency, and they would have been able to charge premium prices, especially the knockout rounds, to hospitality partners, so that would have benefitted.

“But Liverpool had already managed to reduce the gap as a result of expanding the Main Stand, and they could narrow that further if they decide to go to a 60,000-capacity stadium.

“The other area, generating commercial income, is the one where Manchester United were the smartest kids on the block. The approach they took was to go to individual countries and say, ‘would you like to be our official supplier of mobile phones in Thailand, in Indonesia, and then in Japan’, and Liverpool have started to copy that model. But what Liverpool can offer partners, and what Manchester United can’t, is to be able to say, ‘by the way, do you want your photo taken with the Champions League trophy this season?’ Which is very, very attractive.

Listen to the podcast with Kieran Maguire in full below:

“It has also been discussed in the ECHO and in other media outlets that the club’s shirt manufacturing deal is due for renewal in 12 months. They’ll be negotiating on that and I think Liverpool will be able to effectively reduce the gap to either a negligible amount, nothing at all, or perhaps even nip in ahead of United. United generate £75m a season from Adidas, but because Liverpool have got the history and the heritage, and the six European Cup to offer, they are in a position to be able to sell shirts around the world, in a similar way to United.

“United are a global brand and a global club and Liverpool are very much there with them these days as a result of the achievements under Jurgen Klopp and, of course, the history and heritage that came before that.”

The accusation that has been levelled at United, who will not be in the Champions League next season after finishing sixth, is they are more interested in being a ‘global brand’ than a football team that competes for and wins trophies.

And Maguire believes there is a balance to be struck.

“Look at the comments Ed Woodward (United’s executive vice-chairman) made about how they don’t have to win football matches to make money,” said Maguire, who lectures in football finance at the University of Liverpool.

“They were very ill-advised because if you send that message out to hardcore United supporters, who have been going to Old Trafford since the days before Sir Alex Ferguson and legacy period arrived, they are going to bristle at that. If you look at United, they have offices in London, where their commercial department operates from, and Manchester is effectively an after-thought.

“If a club is playing well and winning trophies, nobody cares, and issues of this nature are just brushed off, but there is an argument that Manchester United are being driven by the needs and the demands of the commercial department, and the football comes second to that. You can get away with that on a short-term basis, but if that happens over a longer period of time, it is going to have an impact on success on the park.

“If you take a look at some of the signings made by United, they have taken a Galácticos approach with the likes of Paul Pogba. There’s no doubt he’s a very good footballer but in three years at Old Trafford he’s shone in parts, he’s a good penalty taker, and he’s had some interesting haircuts, but it’s an awful lot of money for someone who is a marketing tool as far as the commercial department is concerned, and I think that will influence their decision whether they sell him or not (this summer).

“I think the noises coming out of Old Trafford is they want to hold on to him for at least one more year but you shouldn’t have the commercial department influencing activities that take place on the field on play.”

That is most definitely not the case at Liverpool and it is the understanding that there is no current desire to spend big in the summer transfer window.

But Maguire has no doubt that the money will be available to Klopp – if and when he chooses to do make use of it.

“Liverpool finished second in the Premier League and actually generated more money from TV from the Premier League than Manchester City because they were on television live more often, and combine that with the additional revenue from the Champions League, and Liverpool’s cash reserves are high,” said Maguire, who also addresses City and Financial Fair Play in the podcast.

(Image: Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)

“They can sign practically anybody they choose. If Jurgen Klopp feels there are still one or two places missing in terms of the squad, they could spend £50m-£60m on a player today, absolutely.

“Plus the fact that Liverpool don’t need to sell and players don’t want to leave. They had issues with Coutinho, Suarez and Sterling, but I don’t think those issues will arise again for a good while, so they are in a very strong position in the market.

“They could spend another £150m if they wanted to this summer but I think Jurgen Klopp is very pleased with the squad and he’s also had some absolute bargains in the likes of Andy Robertson, and Trent Alexander-Arnold, who came through the academy, and those two alone will have saved £100m.

“So it’s not just about spending big, it’s spending smart as well, which you’ve got to give the club credit for.”