Liverpool have announced their matchday revenue fell by almost 95 per cent for the year ending 31 May 2021 in their full financial results.
The Reds won their first Premier League title in June 2020 and lifted the trophy the following month, when games were being played behind closed doors due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Fans subsequently returned to games in limited numbers but it was not until August 2021 when Anfield welcomed a capacity crowd for the first time in 17 months.
Understandably, playing games in front of an empty stadium had an enormous impact on matchday revenue, which dropped from £70million from the previous year to just £3million for the year ending 31 May 2021.
However, there was a significant increase in media revenue from £201million to £266million.
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This is explained by the 2019/20 season carrying over into the summer of 2020 following the lengthy, Covid-19-enforced suspension of fixtures in the spring of that year.
There was also a £200,000 increase in commercial revenue and overall revenue was down by just £3million to just £487million.
The upshot of these figures is Liverpool's loss before tax actually fell from £41.5million for the previous year to £4.8million.
The club were aided by the introduction of 13 new commercial partners including a lucrative deal with kit manufacturer Nike as well as agreements with Expedia, Amazon, Quorn and SC Johnson.
Liverpool have seen record-breaking kit sales thanks to the growth of their online store while also opening three new physical outlets in Thailand and Singapore.
On social media, their presence has grown drastically and there were a total of 1.43billion engagements across platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok.
There has also been significant change to the squad, with Diogo Jota and Thiago Alcantara among the 12 players to arrive in that period and the same number extending their contracts.
In a statement accompanying Liverpool's financial results, managing director Andy Hughes was keen to highlight the club's ongoing work to expand the Anfield Road stand.
"The continued support from our ownership has seen over £130million invested in infrastructure over the past three years and we are delighted with the great progress being made on the Anfield Road expansion project, which will see the capacity of Anfield rise to 61,000, on completion in 2023," Hughes said.
"It is imperative, however, that we continue to live within our means and operate within football's regulations and financial fair play.
"But we'll continue to reinvest on and off the pitch to further strengthen our position and compete at the highest levels right across the club."
