However, unlike Scottish counterparts Rangers, who slipped out of Europe altogether, Liverpool still have the consolation of a place in the lesser competition, and while that may rank way below the Champions League in football terms, it could prove important to their finances.

Liverpool will rake in around €6.6m in prize money simply for reaching the group stage of the Champions League, and winning one and drawing one of their five games to date.

In addition, they will receive a market pool payment at the end of the campaign, which last season amounted to €10.1m.

However, that will represent a significant shortfall on the €23.2m they received from their 2008-09 European campaign, which ended in a quarter-final defeat by Chelsea.

That, coupled with potential losses in ticket sales, merchandising revenue and corporate hospitality sales, as well as the implications for the wider economy on Merseyside, could prove hugely costly.

But while the Europa League may be an unpalatable alternative for manager Rafael Benitez, his players and the club’s fans, Professor Chadwick believes it could yet prove important financially.

He said: “Liverpool, on top of the €15m they are going to get, could have earned another €20m.

“Obviously, that calculation is predicated on getting to the final, but simply by playing your two games in the last 16, you are looking at around three million euros in prize money.

“What they can do is offset some of the damage to their commercial activity if they can get to the final of the Europe League.

“That would be the ideal scenario in terms of their commercial activity.

“There is a big drop in terms of earnings because the Champions League is a premium property with higher sponsorship fees, higher TV rights fees and prize money earnings are higher.

“In terms of commercial earnings, there is much more appeal for people to attend games against involving the likes of Real Madrid and Inter Milan than against some of the clubs they are going to come up against in the Europa League, and that could have an effect of ticket sales and merchandising.

“But a successful run to the final would go a long way to offsetting the impact on commercial activity of elimination from the Champions League.”

There is no safety net available to Rangers, whose 2-0 home defeat by Stuttgart last night ensured they will finish bottom of Group G.

Professor Chadwick said: “The financial implications for Rangers are actually arguably worse than for Liverpool because they have performed so poorly in terms of the prize money they are going to get from the Champions League.

“With the market pool payments, they might come out with about €12m, maybe €13m.

“But there is also a broader economic impact for the cities and the local economy.

“If Rangers had, for example, 10,000 Real Madrid fans coming to town, they would be flying in and spending in the bars, buying pizzas, visiting local tourist attractions, and in terms of economic activity, that could amount to a loss of many millions.”