Liverpool’s fans made their message clear. After the 3-2 victory over Newcastle United at St James’s Park, the visiting fans were clamoring for their rivals to “give it up”. The “he” in question was Newcastle striker Alexander Isak. A week after that dramatic victory, Liverpool fans saw their wish fulfilled when Isak completed a British record transfer of £125 million on the last day of the market.
This sum of money is astonishing in a summer in which the Premier League champions have demonstrated their financial power more than any other club in the world. Midfielder Florian Wirtz, who arrived from Bayer Leverkusen in a £100 million deal in June, a sum that could rise to £116 million with add-ons, has barely played and has already been dethroned as the club’s record signing. Liverpool’s total spending this summer is around £450 million, including add-ons.
In a landscape where clubs live and die by their adherence to financial regulations, both nationally (profit and sustainability rules, or PSR) and in Europe (Financial Fair Play), it’s understandable that there’s confusion in some quarters about Liverpool’s ability to spend so freely this summer. Only Chelsea has spent more in a single transfer window (almost £600 million in 2022-23), and yet Liverpool is not in danger of breaching Premier League or UEFA financial regulations. So, how have they done it?- Liverpool and Arsenal win the transfer window; Newcastle, the biggest loser.
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Liverpool’s Astute Financial Planning
The first indication that this wouldn’t be just any summer for Liverpool came in April. Having just signed a two-year contract at Anfield, forward Mohamed Salah was asked by the club’s media if he felt his team was ready to continue fighting for major honors.The following week, captain Virgil van Dijk sent a direct message to the owners Fenway Sports Group before signing his own contract extension.If I didn’t believe that, I wouldn’t have signed.
Mohamed Salah
While Salah and Van Dijk surely wouldn’t have imagined that their trust in the club’s hierarchy would be so strongly rewarded, it’s logical that both players, who are still at the peak of their careers, committed their future to Liverpool because they had received guarantees that their loyalty would be rewarded with a significant demonstration of ambition in the transfer market. Externally, it may seem that Liverpool has deviated from its traditional policy of cautious spending. However, years of smart financial planning have allowed the club to take off the handbrake this summer.I think Liverpool should be able to compete for titles in the coming years. Whatever happens in terms of players leaving, players coming, I think it should be a great summer. I think [FSG] is planning for it to be a great summer, so we all have to trust the board, as a Liverpool-connected fan, to do a good job.
Virgil van Dijk
With the record revenues that have broadened the parameters of Liverpool’s financial capabilities, the club’s impressive track record of recouping significant fees for the departure of players has also given them more leeway in terms of the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules.The explanation for Liverpool being so ambitious with Alexander Isak, and in the transfer market in general this summer, is quite simple. Not only have they built themselves up to a point where their revenue is among the largest in world football, but they have also reached a summer where they can trade players effectively.
Dave Powell
The departures of first-team stars like Luis Díaz, Darwin Núñez, and Jarell Quansah helped generate around £260 million this summer, including add-ons. In contrast, Arsenal, despite spending less than Liverpool this summer, ends the window with a higher net spend, having failed to secure significant fees for any of their outgoing players.
While Arsenal, Manchester City and Chelsea have been active in the last two transfer windows, Liverpool’s only addition last summer was forward Federico Chiesa for an initial fee of £10 million. In each of the previous two summers, Liverpool chose not to pursue expensive alternatives after missing out on their main targets in midfield (Moisés Caicedo in 2023; Martín Zubimendi in 2024). That patience, it seems, has now been rewarded. Premier League clubs can lose £105 million over a three-year period, with deductions allowed for investment in infrastructure, the academy, the women’s team, and community initiatives. The 2021-22 to 2023-24 period saw the Reds record a profit of £7 million, a loss of £9 million, and a loss of £57 million in the last three years. In terms of permitted deductions during that period, the club had £33 million, £35 million, and £39 million; that means the club had a positive PSR position of £48 million, which, added to the £105 million allowed, means they had a margin of £153 million. They had absolutely no concern. Is there a spending limit for Liverpool? Liverpool’s critics will point to the fact that this summer’s spending is at odds with comments from former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp, when, before his team’s clash with Manchester City in October 2022, he conceded that his team could not compete with the financial might of their rivals, who are majority-owned by Sheikh Mansour, the vice president of the United Arab Emirates.Klopp also attacked Newcastle after its acquisition by the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund, stating that there was no “ceiling” for the club’s spending. But almost three years later, those of Newcastle’s persuasion would be justified in feeling that it is Liverpool, along with the other six traditional teams, whose ceiling is much higher due to their historical commercial success. For Liverpool, however, there is a feeling that this summer has offered the opportunity to lay the foundations for a dynasty. While they continue to meet the standards, the Premier League champions have assembled a squad with the quality needed to compete for the biggest prizes in the game not only this season, but for the foreseeable future. Liverpool has “won” the transfer window. With the exception of Crystal Palace defender Marc Guéhi, whose £35 million transfer fell through when Palace pulled out of the deal at the last minute, they secured all their main targets, all of them with their best years ahead. (Isak is 25, Wirtz 22, Hugo Ekitiké 23, Jeremie Frimpong 24 and Milos Kerkez is only 21. Defender Giovanni Leoni, a long-term prospect, turned 18 in December).Nobody can compete with City. You have the best team in the world and you put the best striker on the market. Whatever it costs, you do it. City won’t like it, nobody will like it, but you know the answer. What does Liverpool do? We can’t act like them. It’s not possible. It’s not possible.
Jurgen Klopp
