Liverpool chief claims club now have 1BILLION fans worldwide and are more watched than Man Utd
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window)
Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
LIVERPOOL claim they now rival Manchester United with one billion fans worldwide while becoming the most watched club in the Premier League.
Old Trafford part-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe boasted that the Red Devils were followed by that staggering global number as he launched plans to build a new £2billion stadium in March.
Sign up for Scottish Sun
newsletter
Sign up
5
Thousands turned up for Liverpool's trophy parade after their Premier League triumph
Credit: PA
5
Liverpool historically are one of the most followed clubs in the world
Credit: ALAMY
5
Liverpool's ownership of John Henry, left, and Tom Werner led the team to Premier League success
Credit: PA
But Anfield chairman Tom Werner has the figures to prove that his 'relentless' club not only finished top in the title race last season but also left their bitter rivals for dead in the TV viewing stakes as well.
He insisted: 'We are very aware of the global power of Liverpool. The club's reach around the world is by far the strongest in the Premier League.
'We're the only Premier League club to surpass 500million views on television [by March 2025 from August last season].
'Last season on social media we generated 1.7 billion engagements. That's not unique engagements, but it's still a huge number.
'Many Americans still don't appreciate the global power of football but over the next ten years I think the Premier League is going to be huge in the US.
'We think there could now be as many as a billion people around the world who follow Liverpool.
BEST ONLINE CASINOS - TOP SITES IN THE UK
'There is a special connection with the fans. You feel it at the games at Anfield, when they start to sing You'll Never Walk Alone. It's deep and emotional.'
Werner puts Liverpool's growing global popularity down to the way Slot's predecessor Jurgen Klopp helped the club plan for the future without him – and how the Dutchman seamlessly replaced him last summer.
Viktor Gyokeres to Liverpool LATEST as Reds sweat on Alexander Isak | Transfers Exposed
As he oversees Slot's summer spend on a re-build that has already cost £170m including £116m Florian Wirtz, Werner explained: "At the LFC Foundation Gala Ball, Jurgen was talking about how relentless the job is.
"To be fair and complimentary to Jurgen, he wanted to transition in a very orderly way and he left the club in very good shape and Arne didn't feel as though he needed to bring in three or four new players.
'What's was so special about Arne is that he's very authentic and he is not trying to be the next Jurgen Klopp, the next Pep Guardiola.
'He is his own man and he is going to approach the club in his own sincere and thoughtful way.
5
Arne Slot led the team to Premier League victory last season
Credit: AFP
5
Both Salah and Van Dijk have signed new deals to stay at the club
Credit: Getty
"It is an exciting time right now but we wake up every day and I keep using the word relentless.
"We want to win more trophies, we don't want to just appreciate what we have done.
'We are hungry to be more successful and what is exciting is that the league is tremendously competitive and we think it will be a challenging season."
Join SUN CLUB for the Man Utd Files every Thursday plus
in-depth coverage and exclusives from Old Trafford
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South Wales Argus
21 minutes ago
- South Wales Argus
Rob Key never doubted Jofra Archer's desire to return to Test cricket
Stress fractures in his right elbow and lower back have conspired to keep Archer on 13 Test caps since February 2021 and repeated setbacks could have seen him throw in his lot on the franchise circuit. Key, England's managing director of men's cricket, suspects Archer would have been in high demand and the prospect is attractive because of a much lighter workload, required to bowl only four overs a game. Archer has a deal with Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League, where he broke his thumb this year to derail hopes of a much-anticipated Test return for England at the start of the summer. Archer made his first-class return for Sussex at Durham (Steve Welsh/PA) But Key was always certain Archer, who is in England's squad for the second Test against India, was destined to play red-ball cricket again and argued he could now establish himself as an all-time great. 'Jofra has always been adamant that he's wanted to play Test cricket,' said Key, speaking at a Rothesay media event in London. 'He's had probably more so than anyone in the game… he could have been tempted to go down other routes and he's never once done it. I've always had faith in Jofra. 'He could be one of the best bowlers we've had – and you only do that in Test cricket. Hopefully for the next few years, we'll be fortunate to see Jofra have a chance to stake that claim.' Key was coy about whether Archer would play at Edgbaston next week or in the third Test at Lord's, starting in a fortnight, having only bowled 18 overs in his first first-class match in four years. Archer bowled economically and at high pace in taking one for 32 at Durham this week but his coach at Sussex, Paul Farbrace, an ex-England assistant, believes the paceman needs more time in county cricket. Jofra Archer is 𝑩𝑨𝑪𝑲 🔥 Our squad to take on India in the second Test has just dropped 📋👇 — England Cricket (@englandcricket) June 26, 2025 England, though, have painstakingly managed Archer to the brink of a Test comeback in the last couple of years, all thanks to the efforts of doctors, physios and especially fast bowling coach Neil Killeen. Captain Ben Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum will also be mindful of overloading Archer, whose initial injury woes were blamed on him bowling 42 overs in a Test against New Zealand in late 2019. 'The temptation at times with Jofra is that he can do a bit of everything but you've got to use him when he can impact the game,' said Key. 'Jofra's been on a long period where he's been building up and building up. I think we've gone slower than we could have done, the temptation would have been to rush him and to bring him back sooner. 'But we've gone down this road to make sure that we're in this position now where we think he'll be able to play. We've picked him in the squad and we'll see how the conditions are (at Edgbaston). Key was always confident that Archer would return to Test cricket (Mike Egerton/PA) 'We'll cross that bridge when we come to it.' Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse and Josh Tongue were the three frontline seamers, alongside captain Ben Stokes, to help England secure a five-wicket win over India and go 1-0 up in the five-match series. Jamie Overton and Sam Cook are also pushing for Test call-ups while Gus Atkinson and Mark Wood are optimistic of being involved at some point against Shubman Gill's tourists. 'There was a time where you thought it was all about Wood and Archer and we needed that X-factor pace – but now we've got a few of them,' added Key. 'Jofra is another piece in that puzzle. 'We don't know who's the next great England opening partnership because there's a number of those options that could be the mainstay of England bowlers for years. I can't wait to see who that will be.'
Daily Mirror
34 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
Leverkusen fans' nickname for Wirtz speaks volumes after £116m Liverpool move
Florian Wirtz completed his move to Liverpool last week from Bayer Leverkusen and supporters of the Bundesliga giants have given an insight into what Reds fans can expect Florian Wirtz has made a blockbuster move to Liverpool from Bayer Leverkusen, with the 22-year-old sealing the deal for an initial £100m rising to £116m and putting pen to paper on a long-term contract at Anfield. Wirtz always had his heart set on a switch to Anfield, leading to Liverpool securing a transfer fee below Leverkusen's £126m asking price. The compromise was struck last week, much to the delight of the Reds. Labelled as one of the most exciting talents in European football, Wirtz was hotly pursued by the likes of Bayern Munich and Manchester City before opting for the Merseyside club. SPORT BILD journalist Phillip Arens shared his enthusiasm with The Times, telling Liverpool fans: "Dear Liverpool fans, congratulations for having Florian Wirtz at Anfield. You'll love him and he'll take your hearts by storm. "He is worth every single pound. Trust me. Wirtz and Liverpool will be a perfect match. I followed him as a reporter at Bayer Leverkusen from his first days when he was 16 years old in 2020.", reports the Liverpool Echo. Arens also recounted: "When the speaker at the BayArena announced the Bayer squad, the fans screamed the word 'Fussballgott' after only one player - Wirtz. Calling a player 'god of football' is a typically German way of showing love and respect." Upon finalising his transfer, Wirtz himself expressed his ambitions, stating that he didn't come to Anfield just 'to have fun', but believes it's the ideal place for him to develop and achieve success. The player stated: "I just thought that it was the right point in my career to make the next step and, of course, I wanted to get to a club that is from the top three in the world, and Liverpool was one of them. "The people say I'm a creative player and I hope I can bring this creativity to the team and also the joy on the pitch. I try to make assists, goals and run for the team and defend. I hope I can just make the team one step better." He explained that his decision to join Liverpool was influenced by the club's people, vision, and offerings, saying: "I just saw myself in the best hands in Liverpool. I was really convinced by the people here, by the idea, and everything the club offers me was really good. It was not that easy for me, for sure, because I am a German player. I play for the Germany national team." He continued, "So it was not easy for me to decide, but the talks with the coach [ Arne Slot ] and Richard [Hughes, sporting director] and everybody were, from the very first time, so good and it just kept going like this." Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
BBC News
40 minutes ago
- BBC News
Could Everton sell their women's team to help with PSR?
Football finance expert Kieran Maguire, speaking to BBC Radio Merseyside about whether Everton could sell their women's team to help with PSR rules: "There has been a new company which has been formed."Everton Football Club Women Limited has been in existence for over a decade, but it looks as if the new owners have set up a company which is linked to the women's team."Could it be that the current owners of Everton Football Club Women, which is Everton Football Club itself, could sell Everton FC Women to this new company which has been set up?"You might say: 'Hold on, well surely that's just transferring things from the left hand to the right hand and overall we're no better off or there's no change?' But in the world of accounting it's very different."It could be this is being done for strategic, planning or tax reasons - or lots of other things."On the basis that Chelsea's women's team was sold for 20 times the amount of revenue it generated, if you take a look at the most recent accounts for Everton's women's team, that means you could probably sell that football club for somewhere in the region of £60-65m and if that was the case that would be pure profit - which goes into your PSR budget and would enhance the ability of Everton to compete in the transfer market."Listen to the full interview on BBC Sounds
