Disney+ are in advanced talks to buy the Liverpool documentary detailing Jurgen Klopp’s final six months at Anfield in a deal that will earn the club around £10million.
Mail Sport has learned that Amazon rejected the chance to buy the series before Klopp’s decision to leave in the summer was announced last week due to concerns about having limited access to the dressing room, while Netflix have also expressed reservations, leaving Disney as the front-runners.
The project has also been pitched to Sky Sports and TNT Sport, although given those broadcasters’ primary focus is on live sport the asking price is understood to be considerably higher than their usual budget for documentaries.
The German manager famously vetoed Liverpool’s discussions with Amazon following a proposal to feature the club in their All or Nothing series in 2018, and only signed off on this project after receiving reassurances that camera crews would not follow his players in the dressing room or other private areas.
Jurgen Klopp has already announced that he will be leaving Liverpool at the end of the season
Liverpool will stand to make around £10million from the deal with Disney+ for the documentary
Liverpool are understood to have viewed the money on offer as too good to turn down given the limited demands that will be made of Klopp and his squad.
The club have signed a contract with London-based production company Lorton, who began filming in December and are in the process of selling the documentary on to TV companies or streaming services.
While Disney is seen as the likely destination due to the productive talks to date the deal has yet to be finalised.
Disney achieved a big hit with Welcome to Wrexham, which was so successful that they have commissioned third series, and are eager to add the Liverpool documentary to their roster.
The series has been pitched a broader look at the club and their interactions with fans and the Liverpool community, rather than having a narrow focus on the first team.
Amazon’s preference is for access-all-areas documentaries such as the All of Nothing Series in which Mikel Arteta and Pep Guardiola’s team-talks and training sessions at Arsenal and Manchester City respectively were shown in intimate detail.
Netflix’s football documentary strategy has been largely based on portraits of individuals such as David Beckham, Pele and Neymar, although they have worked with clubs in the past with projects including the infamous Sunderland Til I Die and a series called Juventus: First Team.
Liverpool, Disney and Lorton declined to comment.
