Swiss Super League side Basel's Champions League elimination of Liverpool was “all the more remarkable given the financial gulf” between the two clubs, according to Brian Homewood of REUTERS. While Liverpool raked in $152.97M in Premier League broadcast revenue last season, its conquerors earned just $2.48M from Swiss League TV rights. Meanwhile, the £20M that “Liverpool splashed out on Lazar Markovic, sent off during Tuesday's 1-1 draw at Anfield, was more than twice” Basel's entire transfer spending in the summer window. Yet, Basel has “repeatedly upstaged richer clubs with a business model based on nurturing young talent and creating a fan-friendly environment” which pulls in capacity crowds on a regular basis, even in the modest Swiss Super League. Basel President Bernhard Heusler said, "Our business is to some extent limited in merchandising, so we have to be smarter in other areas. We invest a lot of money in our youth department and aim to have one third of the players of in the squad developed in our own youth department” (REUTERS, 12/10).
