Liverpool have once again travelled to the United States of America for their latest pre-season tour, which kicks off this weekend.
The Reds begin their preparations for the 2026/27 season with a clash against Sunderland at Geodis Park in Nashville on Saturday before facing Wrexham at Yankee Stadium and Leeds United at Soldier Field.
Ahead of the opening game against Sunderland, Rousing The Kop have spoken to finance expert Adam Williams who has broken down how much money Liverpool can expect to earn from the tour, and why the trip is not all about making money.
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Liverpool’s profit from U.S. pre-season tour will be minimal
Williams suggested that somewhere in the region of £10m-15m will be heading FSG’s way this summer.
However, he estimated that around 75% of that will not be profit when factoring in the costs on flights, hotels, etc.
He said: “Typically, Liverpool would probably be looking for maybe in the region of £10-15m from a pre-season tour in the US. That is the benchmark for a Big Six club.
“You’re usually expecting a flat fee from the promoter who organises the friendlies. The promoter handles most of the logistics and splits gate receipts with the venues. You’ll also get a bump in retail revenue, plus more money from dedicated tour sponsors.
“Mind you, that £10m is income, not profit. These tours are very, very expensive to organise. They are flying 31 players and probably twice as many sporting and commercial staff across the Atlantic, putting them up in premium hotels, organising internal travel, feeding them, hiring training facilities, paying for things like insurance and a million different administration costs. I haven’t seen any specific research or disclosures, but I would estimate that Liverpool’s costs probably eat about 75 per cent of the revenue from the tour.”
So why are Liverpool even bothering flying to the USA to face other British teams if they aren’t really making any money?
Well, as Williams explained, it is more about trying to secure new, long-term fans and capitalise on the success of the 2026 World Cup in North America than it is about netting an immediate windfall.
He added: “But all that said, there is a broader strategic aim of pre-season tours. These trips for a club like Liverpool are as much about marketing and exposure as they are about cold, hard revenues.
“It’s a chance to capitalise on the momentum from the World Cup and get more people in the US into the follower-fan-fanatic pipeline. In business, they talk about ‘customer acquisition cost’ – basically, it is much easier and cheaper to create new fans and paying customers abroad than it is at home or in Europe, because everyone is already loyal to a team there. So Liverpool’s tour in the US will be about nurturing their existing fanbase and creating more Liverpool fans who might one day visit the stadium, buy a shirt online or engage with the club financially in any way.
“Also, it’s an opportunity to activate new sponsorship deals, maybe host US-based commercial partners at matches and so on. Clubs always talk about providing more ‘value’ to their sponsors, and this is one way they do that.
“For real, bedrock Liverpool fans, I know it’s bizarre to hear it spoken about in this way, but these are the cold, clinical terms in which FSG and indeed every other ownership group and commercial department think. It’s about monetisation and markets.”
Eight Liverpool players missing first pre-season game vs Sunderland
Liverpool confirmed their pre-season squad earlier this week, and there were some notable omissions.
A number of stars competed at the 2026 World Cup, and as per FIFA rules, they must spend at least 21 days on holiday before they can return to action.
That means we won’t see Victor Munoz or Alexis Mac Allister back with the Reds until August 10.
It also meant Alexander Isak, Cody Gakpo, Virgil van Dijk, Ryan Gravenberch and Florian Wirtz were not allowed to link up with the team until July 21.
They are technically available for the Sunderland game, but none of the international stars are expected to play and will instead be back for the Wrexham fixture on July 30.
Alisson Becker is also out of action as he was competing at the World Cup with Brazil until July 5.
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