Liverpool

Aadam Patel
Liverpool reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Liverpool will already know how challenging the trip to Istanbul will be when then face Galatasaray.

Arne Slot's side lost there earlier in the campaign and seeing the way Galatasaray beat Juventus 5-2 in the play-offs is enough to show just how much of a force Okan Buruk's side are at home. Liverpool have played there three times and never won.

That said, they should fancy their chances of doing the job across two legs and it would definitely be a surprise if Liverpool failed to progress after the second leg at Anfield. Even Galatasaray's Victor Osimhen said earlier in the week that he would prefer to avoid Liverpool.

Deal with Galatasaray and the prospect of a quarter-final against Chelsea or PSG is tantalising to say the least. A tie with Chelsea would be a throwback to the Rafa Benitez days when the sides took on each other in the Champions League 10 times in the space of five years.

For Slot though, who repeatedly mentions how close his side came to knocking eventual winners PSG out of the competition last year, taking on Luis Enrique's side would be a chance to deliver a seismic statement in what the Liverpool boss has already described as his most challenging season yet.

On paper, Liverpool will not be fancied to go the distance given the season they've had but this is a side that knows what it takes to reach European finals.

They have a tough draw, with either Bayern Munich, Atalanta, Man City or Real Madrid as potential semi-final opponents. But only a fool would write off the team that has won this competition more than any other English side.

As club legend Ian Rush said on Friday: "If you are going to win it, you have got to beat them all on the way."

Chloe Bloxam
Fan contributor

Liverpool have been performing better in recent weeks and have also been on the correct end of results.

However I am not sure Liverpool have yet turned a corner this season. The main reason is, I have thought it too many times previously this season and sadly it has not been the case.

Watch more from Chloe above and find more from her at The Redmen TV, external

Image source, Getty Images

The Champions League last-16 draw has been made and a route to the final has been plotted for all six Premier League sides in the competition.

The first legs will be played on the 10 and 11 March, the second on 17 and 18 March.

Here are the ties:

• Atalanta v Bayern Munich

• Atletico Madrid v Tottenham

• Bayer Leverkusen v Arsenal

• Bodo/Glimt v Sporting

• Galatasaray v Liverpool

• Newcastle v Barcelona

• Paris St-Germain v Chelsea

• Real Madrid v Manchester City

Get live reaction and consider your route to the final here

Image source, Getty Images

Liverpool have announced record revenues for the club's most recent financial year.

Covering the season in which the Reds won a 20th league title for the year ending 31 May 2025, the club generated revenues of £703m, an increase from £613.8m in 2024.

Media revenue saw the biggest jump, rising by £60m year-on-year to £264m.

The club also increased their commercial revenue by about 5% and matchday revenue - which includes ticket sales - was up £14m to £116m.

On Thursday, BBC Sport reported on how ticket revenues are soaring for the Premier League's biggest clubs.

This week has also brought news of Chelsea making the biggest pre-tax loss ever by an English club, according to numbers released by Uefa.

Liverpool conversely made a profit of £8m in their title-winning season.

Katie Stafford
BBC Sport journalist

Liverpool boss Arne Slot has been speaking to the media before Saturday's Premier League game against West Ham at Anfield (kick-off 15:00 GMT).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Jeremie Frimpong has trained "a few times this week" so is available to face West Ham.

• Florian Wirtz remains sidelined with an injury which he described as "a disappointment for him and for us". On the timescale for his return, he added: "I don't know. Usually when I say that, I do know and I don't want to share that. But this time, I honestly don't know."

• Slot said ending Mohamed Salah's goalless run is a "challenge he has" and "a team thing they have to improve" on.

• More on Salah: "He sets his own standards and they were so, so high. When he doesn't score for a few games, it means people are surprised. We are used to Mo scoring a lot of goals, but we also know this has happened before and in the end, he always starts scoring again."

• Slot added that Salah "is not our only attacker that's not scoring as much", as Hugo Ekitike and Cody Gakpo have also not scored as many recently.

• On another win putting pressure on teams battling for the top four: "We're not so focused on other teams and mainly on ourselves. We know we need to win a lot of games and that is what our focus is on. We are aware of the league table."

• He said Rio Ngumoha's playing time has improved massively over the past few weeks because he "developed and became a better player".

• On facing another team near the bottom of the league after struggling to break down Nottingham Forest last weekend: "I cannot manipulate the fact we have struggled a lot against the teams who were promoted or near the bottom. We understand how difficult winning games in general is - it doesn't matter where they are in the table."

Listen to commentary of Liverpool vs West Ham on BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Sounds at 15:00 on Saturday.

Follow all of Friday's Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day's football news

Listen to Slot on BBC Sounds

Got a question about Liverpool? Get in touch here and we'll put it to our experts

Rio Ngumoha has been jumping every hurdle put in front of him and is ready for Liverpool's starting line-up, says journalist and The Late Challenge podcast's, external Mo Stewart.

Liverpool host 18th-placed West Ham United on Saturday and Stewart believes there is no better time to call the youngster up.

"I'm very tempted," Stewart told BBC Radio Merseyside.

"If you looked at the whole season and was thinking 'I'm going to give this kid a start in a game', you'd expect it to be at home to a team in the bottom five. That's what's happening in this game and I think it might be the last time this season.

"On top of that, off the back of him making a real impact in the game against Nottingham Forest and helping to contribute to the win, it feels like a good time.

"I understand though why Arne Slot is so cautious with him. I do think that when you're a player of that talent and age - because he is still really young, he's 17 but a young 17, more 16 - you have to be careful with how he deals with the physical and the mental side of football.

"But with that being said, I am also of the opinion that every time they give him a little bit and how he's dealt with it, every time they have put a hurdle in front of him, he seems to jump it."

Hit play above to hear the full chat or listen here on BBC Sounds

Catch Saturday's full match commentary on BBC Radio 5 Live from 15:00 GMT

Daniel Austin
BBC Sport senior journalist

Image source, Getty Images

Fans of the Premier League's six wealthiest clubs are paying an average of £74 per ticket for each match they attend, while ticket revenues are soaring, according to data from a new report.

The Uefa European club finance and investment landscape report shows that Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham earned an average of 19% more money from selling tickets for home matches in 2025 than in 2024.

Among Premier League clubs, Arsenal made the most per fan, per match, earning an average of £89 per ticket.

The biggest increase in ticket income was earned by Liverpool, who made 27% more than the previous year, for a total of £120m.

The figures include matches in all European and domestic competitions and comprise the average price for general admission and hospitality tickets.

The data shows all 20 Premier League clubs made a combined total of £920m from ticket sales last year - an increase of £90m from the previous year.

That total is almost double the total of £514m in ticket income earned by Spanish clubs.

Nine Premier League clubs feature in Europe's top 25 for gate revenue, with the wealthiest six all in the top 11.

The report shows the 20 Premier League clubs are well ahead of their European rivals when it comes to overall revenue, earning a combined total of £6.5bn.

That is almost double the revenue of the next highest division, Germany's Bundesliga, whose 18 clubs made a total of £3.4bn.

Of the 25 clubs who generated the most revenue, 11 were English.

But those revenues did not mean the Premier League clubs turned a collective profit, as only five made a profit while 15 made losses and across the division, there was a combined pre-tax loss of £559m.

Chelsea - with £355m - made the second-highest loss in European football history while Spurs (£129m) were the the third-biggest losers in 2025, with Aston Villa fifth (£85m).

Read Dan's piece in full

Josh Sexton
Fan writer

Image source, Getty Images

Liverpool's rich history is one littered with cautionary tales. The territory that comes with playing for a big club.

And yet, two careers in particular have been fresh in my mind this week, that of Michael Owen and that of Rhian Brewster.

Two forwards who played for the Reds during their teenage years, but with very different roles, yet two players who may feel they could have done more with their careers beyond their time at Anfield.

Owen is still publicly - and at any opportunity - proud to show the fact that he won the Ballon d'Or while at the club, yet you always sense a tinge of sadness that his career didn't last that little bit longer at an elite level. Instead, it burned bright and faded fast.

Brewster - some would argue, armed with the added benefit of hindsight - was never likely to reach that level. He certainly came from Chelsea hotly-tipped, though, and the fee he eventually left for symbolised that. Liverpool can rightly feel they got the better end of that deal now.

What if they had chosen to give him more minutes early on, though? If there were a proper development plan in place, meaning he wasn't simply left to be no more than a bench player? You can't help but feel that the lack of success in his career since could be in part due to a lack of top-level football during those years of such burgeoning talent.

For Owen, the opposite was certainly true. Some would argue that he was relied upon too frequently to be Liverpool's answer at such a young age and, despite the success he brought to Gerard Houllier's reign, that took a toll that was too great for his growing body.

It's these two career paths that make what Arne Slot does with Rio Ngumoha next a dilemma. It's clear that the youngster is ready for more minutes, but the club also needs to ensure it doesn't all come too soon for him.

Play him so much that you become reliant, and there's a chance that a growing body may not be able to take the strain, but wait too long to introduce him and potentially rob him of an early peak.

There's no one-size-fits-all solution to when a footballer's career peaks, even if we think we can generally attribute it to a specific age range.

Ramp his minutes up now, by all means, because he's more than deserving. But build him a proper ramp-up plan, so we can try to prolong the potential superstardom that stands before us.

Find more from Josh Sexton on outlets including The Anfield Wrap, external

This is your Liverpool page. Bookmark it, or if you're logged in on the BBC Sport app, press the bell icon and select news alerts. If you're logged in on a desktop, press 'follow' and you'll start seeing more Liverpool content when on the site.

Liverpool are firmly in the frame for Nottingham Forest's 23-year-old Brazil defender Murillo, although Chelsea still lead the pursuit. (Teamtalk), external

Liverpool and Manchester United will not pay Wolves' £50m asking price for 18-year-old England youth international Mateus Mane this summer as they consider the midfielder too raw. (Football Insider), external

Liverpool's 19-year-old winger Trent Kone-Doherty, from Northern Ireland, might soon leave to join Norwegian club Molde despite being offered a new contract at Anfield. (Football Insider), external

Reports that Jurgen Klopp will leave his role as head of global soccer at the Red Bull organisation are "complete nonsense and totally unfounded", says CEO Oliver Mintzlaff. (Sky Sports Germany - in German), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Friday's full gossip column

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

Harry Holmes
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Getty Images

Joe Gomez has 300 senior games under his belt and won several major honours while at Liverpool, but there is one accolade that continues to escape him.

And that is the defender has never scored a goal.

Not for boyhood club Charlton Athletic, not for Liverpool and not for England.

As a two-time Premier League champion, Champions League, FA Cup, League Cup, Super Cup and Club World Cup winner, Gomez has completed the collection for the Reds. However, he has never been able to celebrate a goal that was of his own doing.

The defender has managed to set up a Liverpool team-mate to score on 12 occasions, but no matter how many fans urge him to "shoot", he just can't find the back of the net.

Gomez has never had that moment with the fans.

How unusual is this for outfield players in the Premier League?

Gomez has made 162 top-flight appearances to date. Ten other players have made more Premier League appearances than Gomez and not scored.

Tony Hibbert and Kenny Cunningham are the only two of those who have failed to score in all competitions.

The shining light for Gomez is that he has never scored at either end, meaning he has managed to steer clear of scoring any own goals so far in his senior football career.

The 28-year-old has plenty of years left in him and he will - no doubt - be hoping he won't be joining Hibbert and Cunningham in going his whole career without one.

Liverpool fan Sam Goodall-Walker on the Reds quest for Champions League qualification: "I think one of the key things for Liverpool is going to be fitness. I think the key thing for us is about having those players available at one time, because we haven't been at the races this season, especially in attack.

"I think we've changed this year, what we've done as a team is rebuilt in a way that we go forward, which is through the centre through Wirtz, so I think what's happened is we've changed our style quite drastically, going forward especially.

"We're not as highly reliant anymore on those wide players as we were. We're very much going through the centre with the likes of Wirtz and Ekitike being our main outlets, and then Salah and Gakpo or Rio [Ngumoha] chipping in.

"When the double game weeks came in, that's when we faltered... we're going to be faced with the challenge again of having to go again and again with a small-ish squad.

"I'm looking, as a positive, glass-half-full Liverpool fan, as I always am. I'm looking and thinking we can finish third."

On Champions League expectations: "I expect Liverpool to get through the round of 16 regardless who we get. Once you get to the last eight it's going to be big side after big side, and it's going to be hard to balance off the weekend games when you've got Barcelona or even Chelsea in between."

On weather Rio Ngumoha should be starting games: "I think he's got all the talent in the world. He's 17 and he's a little lad. You've just got to look after your players. And I don't think it'd be responsible at the moment to throw him in from the start with the way the English media and football fans are in this country."

Hit play above to listen or get more Liverpool audio on BBC Sounds here

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Egypt forward Mohamed Salah, 33, is happy to see out the remainder of his Liverpool contract, which runs up to the end of next season, should a move to the Saudi Pro League not materialise this summer. (Football Insider), external

Eintracht Frankfurt's 22-year-old Germany defender Nnamdi Collins is the subject of interest from Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester City, Newcastle, Brighton and Brentford. (Teamtalk), external

Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United are closely monitoring the development of Ajax's 18-year-old Dutch midfielder Sean Steur.

German agent Volker Struth, who has worked with Florian Wirtz in the past, says he offered the Germany midfielder to Real Madrid last summer before his £116m move from Bayer Leverkusen to Liverpool. (Phrasenmaher via Mirror), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Thursday's full gossip column

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Pat Nevin
Former footballer and presenter

Image source, Getty Images

The battle to be the best of the rest and the crucial chase for the Champions League places is hotting up, or it should be.

The current league table suggests it is between Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United for the two remaining places after City, Arsenal and Aston Villa. Except that Chelsea and Liverpool looked disinterested for parts of their games at the weekend.

The Champions League is the holy grail for the owners, well for their finances anyway. Chelsea managed to meekly fail at home to lowly Burnley even though they took an early lead and had everything in their favour.

‌I was at Nottingham Forest to see Liverpool being borderline awful in their first half, with only Virgil van Dijk and, to a lesser extent, Ibrahima Konate keeping them afloat.

There was a plastic bag on the field at one point and the ball rolled over it several times - it seemed to be having a bigger impact on the game than Mo Salah.

He wasn't the only one; everyone was underperforming and starting with Dominik Szoboszlai at right-back was little less than shooting themselves in the foot. The three points, won with a 97th-minute Alexis Mac Allister strike, were among the luckiest you will see.

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Aadam Patel
Football reporter

Image source, Getty Images

The plan is to manage Rio Ngumoha's workload and be "careful", as Arne Slot says.

Ngumoha, 17, has two days of training a week where he is off the pitch.

There is a focus on building his physicality too and improving his off-ball work for the challenges of the top-flight, be that game understanding or his defensive instincts.

Very few teenagers are equipped technically, physically and mentally to play at the highest level straight away and Liverpool are getting him ready to be a key part of their side for the near future - but are keen not to rush things.

"The manager is very important to me and he helps me a lot," said Ngumoha.

"We might have a meeting after training and he tells me how well I am doing, to keep going, showing me clips. All of that is important and helpful.

"I think it has gone really well. I am learning a lot every day playing and training with some of the best players in the world.

"I can't ask for much more as a young kid. So I just think I need to carry on proving, working hard in training and showing what I can do to the manager."

• Read comments from Ngumoha on what he hopes to achieve

• Listen to Liverpool fan Daldeep discuss Ngumoha on BBC Radio Merseyside

Liverpool, Manchester United and Tottenham are interested in RB Leipzig's Ivory Coast winger Yan Diomande - but a deal could be complicated by a dispute over who currently represents the 19-year-old. (Telegraph - subscription required), external

Manchester City, Liverpool and Real Madrid are closely monitoring Juventus' 26-year-old Italy full-back Andrea Cambiaso. (Caughtoffside), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Wednesday's full gossip column

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

Image source, GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS

As well as a Champions League title, three Premier League titles, two FA Cups and two Community Shields to James Milner's name, he now has three Guinness World Record titles.

After Milner overtook Gareth Barry's record of 653 Premier League appearances in Brighton's 2-0 victory over Brentford, Milner's overall top-flight appearances now sits at 654.

The 40-year-old has also set two other records, which now means he holds the longest gap between his first and last Premier League goals (22 years 248 days) and for the most consecutive Premier League seasons played (24).

Milner said: "When I was younger, I used to get the Guinness World Records book for Christmas every year. So this is pretty amazing."

Jordan Chamberlain
Fan writer

Image source, Getty Images

Liverpool have no excuse for the quality of the performance against Nottingham Forest on Sunday.

It was so, so drab. They had a week off to rest and prepare, while their relegation-threatened opponents were in Turkey playing in the Europa League on Thursday night. They also have a new manager who will have had basically no time to work with his players.

Why can't Liverpool keep the ball in midfield? Why do supposedly world-class players show such a horrible first touch? Why is it so boring... ?

I'm not sure I've ever felt less enjoyment from a last-minute winner, to be honest. Alexis Mac Allister's goal eventually stood, but the VAR delays and the fact that the same thing happened minutes earlier completely destroyed the joy.

Instead of euphoria, you feel relief, which is a very different emotion.

Liverpool are definitely in a race for the top five and have a favourable run of fixtures in comparison with Chelsea and Manchester United.

But, as a fan, I want to watch players fighting, running and creating.

We can't just be relying on Florian Wirtz to create magic. After all, we won the Premier League last season without him.

Find more from Jordan Chamberlain at Empire of the Kop, external

Liverpool could consider a swap deal with Real Madrid which would bring Brazil winger Rodrygo, 25, to Anfield and allow midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai to join the Spanish giants. (Fichajes - in Spanish), external

Aston Villa, Crystal Palace and Wolves are among the clubs interested in signing Andy Robertson, should the left-back leave Anfield this summer. (Caught Offside), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Tuesday's full gossip column

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

Image source, Getty Images

We asked for your views on whether Liverpool youngster Rio Ngumoha is getting enough game time under Arne Slot.

Here are some of your comments:

Dave: Definitely need him to start in my opinion! Hopefully make an impact then withdraw him, Cody Gakpo not effective enough and Mohamed Salah is worse.

Oli: Rio should play more. Future injury is always a concern and a risk in players but there are ways to mitigate this. Unfortunately this season, the starting wingers Gakpo and Salah have not been performing, and in the short time we have seen Rio play, he has looked the better of the three.

Ben: I don't think the gaffa is getting it right for Rio or Federico Chiesa! I don't think Gakpo has been as bad as others are saying, but he's not produced much in terms of goals or assists. Rio and Chiesa should both be getting more time!

Jeremy: It's simple, he needs to play more. Whenever he comes on from the bench, he lights the whole pitch alight. I appreciate he's the same position as Mo Salah but he should be getting at least 30 minutes rather than five!

Paul: Ngumoha is just one of many Liverpool youth that lack opportunities of game time. Last summer Liverpool sold many young players with potential; Jarell Quansah, Harvey Elliott, Ben Doak, Caoimhin Kelleher and Tyler Morton, who Slot never played and now complains Liverpool don't have a squad because they're all young and inexperienced. Ngumoha needs feeding in to get game-time and match fit but won't get it under Slot!

Ash: Slot has his trusted players and that's it. Rio should he playing a lot more minutes. Elliot was the same, under Jurgen Klopp he trusted and played him, Slot comes in and ships him out. Doesn't like or trust youth players.

Ben: I'd love to see more of Rio, he needs more playing time. I also get that Slot is trying to protect him.

Shazza: It's a difficult needle to thread. On the one hand, a few more minutes per game would be good so that he can be more involved in the plays. On the other hand, bringing him in and expecting him to turn around games at this level is unfair and unrealistic. I think that if we had a better season, he would get more minutes.

In the moments after Liverpool's late show at Nottingham Forest on Sunday, a specific theme quickly gained traction - why doesn't Rio Ngumoha play more?

Ex-Red Jamie Carragher was posing the question while the players celebrated in front of their away fans. Former striker Daniel Sturridge left it a while but raised the prospect of more Ngumoha game time on social media later in the day, while fans consistently threw the issue into the mix.

Ngumoha - aged 17 years and 178 days at the time of writing - threatened to leap into our weekly consciousness when - just 16 at the time - he emerged from the bench to net a winner for Liverpool at Newcastle in August. A weekly impact or opportunity is yet to materialise.

Head coach Arne Slot has had his say more than once, stating Ngumoha has played more football than most for a player of his age.

"I don't think there is an 18-year-old or 19-year-old that has maybe played as many minutes as Rio but that last bit I'm not sure about," Slot said.

"That tells you how much of a talent he is and we think he is. He is making progress more and more and that's why you see him playing more and more.

"He gets stronger and stronger. Apart from his moment when he had his one-v-one, there were also one or two other moments where he stands his ground. That is what you need because you face 25, 26, 27, 28-year-old athletes mainly as your opponents because we are a bit of an exception in terms of our age group of players. Most teams have players of different ages and physicality.

"For him to show this already at 17 years of age, it says something about his talent. But as we all know, talent is only the start of his career, you need so many other things."

So how much exposure has Ngumoha had in the Premier League? That depends on your preferred metric.

On one hand, his nine appearances this season are seven more than any other player under the age of 18, with Arsenal's Max Dowman, Crystal Palace's Joel Drakes-Thomas and Brighton's Harry Howell all on two appearances. A total of 18 players in Premier League history have earned more appearances than Ngumoha before turning 18.

But appearances could mean 90 minutes of mayhem or a solitary minute awaiting a meaningful touch.

So drilled down, Ngumoha has just 89 minutes of football to his name in the top tier. That's again leading the way this season for those aged under 18, nine minutes clear of Howell.

But, ranked historically, his 89 minutes ranks 55th in Premier League history for players under the age of 18.

Gareth Barry had bagged 2,105 minutes before turning 18, Wayne Rooney 2,037 and Luke Shaw 1,950.

Naturally, a theory exists whereby those who start young - Michael Owen, Fernando Torres and Raheem Sterling to name a few - perhaps show the impact of injuries and load by their mid-to-late 20s.

Any club would be wise to guard against this in the hope of ensuring longevity and asset value.

So is Slot getting it right in terms of balance? Are you surprised with how Ngumoha ranks historically? Is he good enough already to play more, or is an impact role fitting for now?

Tell us here