Liverpool are facing a massive hit on their controversial kit deal with Nike.

It took a court battle for Liverpool and Nike to force out New Balance, which were adamant that they had first refusal if they could match Nike's offer for the 2020/21 season.

But with the deal heavily reliant on shirt sales rather than cash up front, the coronavirus crisis is expected to hurt Liverpool's plans.

Kieran Maguire, from the University of Liverpool's football finance department, told the Liverpool Echo's Blood Red podcast: "The way that the deal has been structured appears to be that Nike are offering a lower guaranteed fee but a much higher commission on every shirt sold.

"Liverpool might be a little bit twitchy now because four million people could be unemployed in the UK at the end of this calendar year and many won't be able to afford new kits.

"Liverpool might be getting 20 per cent of nothing from some people, and if a lot of people don't buy the kit, then the volume of kit sales is likely to fall until we have greater social interaction.

"What's the point in spending £50-60 on a shirt when the only people who can see you are your friends on Zoom, or your wife or whoever is going to be in the back garden?

"On an individual level, do you want to be spending £70-80 on a brand-new version of kit when your peers are being furloughed?

"It could be that conspicuous consumption of any form, either at club level or individual, actually becomes socially unacceptable."