There are very few football revenue streams that haven't been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
For Liverpool, just three months of the pandemic's impact was enough to see them swing from a £42m pre-tax profit in 2019 to a £46m pre-tax loss in 2020 as broadcast revenue and matchday revenue slumped.
One dial that was moving in the right direction, however, was that of the commercial activity at Anfield that had risen £29m to £217m year on year thanks to a number of new commercial partnerships being agreed and some existing ones extended.
But in those accounts for the year ending May 2020 there was included the pre-season trip to the US in the summer of 2019, the last tour that the Reds will likely go on until at least next summer.
When the accounts for the year ending May 2021 are published early next year there will be no revenue boost from a 2020 summer tour, and the same will be the case the following year. And while it may seem a fairly minor detail, with the Reds simply shifting their pre-season schedule to games in the UK and dotted around Europe, the potential for summer tours to key markets is enormous.
The last tour that the Reds went on was to the US in 2019, playing games in Boston, New York and South Bend, Indiana. The year before, on another tour of the US, more than 100,000 fans flocked to see Liverpool take on Manchester United in Michigan.
In years previous they have also headed to the Far East to bring the club to their legions of global fans, a move that brings millions into the football club.
For a club the size of Liverpool, with one of the largest global fan bases in world sport, having the ability to get their brand physically in different territories can prove extraordinarily lucrative. From gaining new fans to bringing on new corporate partners, there is a reason why the biggest clubs engage in such tours, and why they head to markets where there is real room for growth.
Liverpool don't break down their own revenue gains from pre-season tours in their accounts, but a look at what Manchester United have delivered from their summer tours gives some clues as to how lucrative they can be.
United brought in £12.9m in revenues from their exhibition tour to Australia in the summer of 2019, accounted for in the 2019/20 accounts published last year.
"We normally receive a guaranteed fee for such tours," it was explained in United's official accounts.
"We also generate revenue from tour sponsorship opportunities sold to existing and new partners. During the 2019/20 season, our promotional exhibition games and promotional tours generated £12.9 million of revenue (excluding any related sponsorship revenue).
"We believe promotional tours represent a growth opportunity as we continue to play exhibition games around the world."
The Old Trafford side didn't head out on a tour last summer due to the pandemic and aren't expected to do so this summer, meaning that they could be missing out on near £26m of revenues.
Liverpool's approach to growing their global fanbase is similar to that of United's, with one of the four key elements of the 'Group' strategy being to 'leverage the club's global following to deliver profitable revenue growth'.
The Nike kit deal gives their merchandise greater reach and their relationship with having LeBron James as a part owner through his one per cent stake in FSG affords them the chance to have eyeballs on them that they might not otherwise have, with different demographics becoming more aware of the club.
But Fenway Sports Group will have to wait another year before being able to bring the Reds to their global audience, another unseen financial impact of the pandemic.
