Self-sufficiency has been the name of the game for Liverpool’s owners during their hugely successful tenure.
The Fenway Sports Group’s (FSG) frugality had long frustrated supporters, but the genius of Michael Edwards and brilliance of Jürgen Klopp ensured the Reds were able to masterfully rebuild midway through the 2010s and eventually emerge as an imperious force in domestic and continental spheres.
They, of course, spent big when necessary, with Virgil van Dijk and Alisson joining the club for anything but unsubstantial sums. Liverpool spent £141 million to bring the pair of stalwarts to Anfield, but Klopp drew the line at Manchester United’s £89 million purchase of Paul Pogba in 2018. The day footballers cost £100 million would be the day he’s "not in a job any more," the German memorably jibed.
Well, the former Liverpool boss must resent Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak deeply.
The landscape has seemingly shifted drastically in a short period of time at Anfield since Klopp’s departure, with the purse string tightening of yesteryear usurped by a record-breaking splurge off the back of their second Premier League title triumph.
Here’s how the Reds were able to oversee their historic summer transfer window.
Liverpool’s 2025 Summer Transfer Window
Introducing our new number 9️⃣✨ pic.twitter.com/lm3qRsZh9d
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) September 1, 2025
Liverpool topped Chelsea’s record-breaking window from the summer of 2023 by completing the Deadline Day signing of Alexander Isak from Newcastle United.
For the second time in the window, the Reds smashed their transfer record, with Isak setting them back £125 million. Previously, Liverpool signed Bayer Leverkusen playmaker Florian Wirtz in a deal that could eventually be worth £116.5 million.
Isak and Wirtz were the record-breakers, but the champions also paid a guaranteed £69 million for Eintracht Frankfurt’s Hugo Ekitiké, as well as a combined £69.5 million for Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong, who rejuvenated their full-back positions. Potential Alisson successor Giorgi Mamardashvili cost £25 million.
FootballTransfers.com (via the BBC) tallies their total outlay to have reached £415 million, topping Chelsea’s £391 million from two summers back. However, Liverpool were also able to generate £187 million in sales, which meant their net spend of £228 million was actually less than Arsenal’s £246 million. The Gunners, who are gunning to dethrone the Reds at the Premier League summit this term, spent £255 million on new signings, but were only able to generate £9 million in sales.
Liverpool were once again effective sellers this summer, earning a small fee from Real Madrid for Trent Alexander-Arnold so he could play in the Club World Cup. The departure of Luis Díaz to Bayern Munich garnered £60 million up front, while Al Hilal could eventually pay £56.6 million for Darwin Núñez.
Most impressively, the club received £50 million for the sales of Ben Gannon Doak and Jarell Quansah, potentially rising to £60 million. The former was a star of Klopp preseasons but rarely featured under Arne Slot, while Quansah quickly fell out of favour under the Dutchman last season.
Liverpool Ins
*Potential transfer value in brackets
Liverpool Outs
*Selected players only
*Potential transfer value in brackets
Liverpool’s Recent Net Spend History
There’s a sense that Liverpool were able to commit to a record-breaking summer transfer window because, well... they’ve been saving up.
The modest windows which preceded their recent splash afforded them plenty of headway in regards to profit and sustainability rules (PSR), and they’ve opted to cash in off the back of last season’s Premier League title success.
Between FSG’s first summer transfer window at the helm and the end of the 2024–25 season—so not accounting for their historic spending spree—Liverpool (€611.5 million) had the tenth highest net spend in Europe, and the seventh highest in the Premier League.
Tottenham Hotspur (€648.6 million) and West Ham United (€620.2 million) boasted higher net spends during this period, while Manchester United (€1.56 billion), Manchester City (€1.29 billion), Chelsea (€1.26 billion) and Arsenal (€957.4 million) all ranked inside the top five.
If you include the recently-closed transfer window, Liverpool’s net spend would still rank behind Chelsea, Man City and Man Utd’s since FSG’s first summer.
Between the 2020–21 and 2024–25 seasons, their net spend (€297 million) was the eighth-highest in the Premier League. Including the 2025 summer, Liverpool’s total (€559.4 million) still sits behind Chelsea, Man City, Man Utd, Arsenal and Tottenham‘s.
Chelsea’s net spend is almost €400 million more since 2020–21, while Tottenham’s is almost €200 million greater than Liverpool’s.
Europe Net Spend Table Between FSG’s First Summer Transfer Window and 2024–25
Data provided by Transfermarkt.com
Europe Net Spend Table Between 2020–21 and 2024–25
All data provided by Transfermarkt.com.
How Else Were Liverpool Able to Afford Record Spend?
Other Premier League clubs have endured Liverpool’s splurge with a resentful gaze, while they attempt to comply with the Premier League’s PSR rules and UEFA’s financial regulations.
However, the Reds have set themselves up for success due to years of shrewd financial planning. They aren’t close to veering into PSR trouble.
The rules state that clubs can lose £105 million over a three-year rolling period, and the club posted a positive PSR position of £48 million between 2021–22 and 2023–24. That means they had £153 million in headroom entering the new cycle.
While the club spent over £400 million on new players, their ability to acquire ’pure profit’ via the sales of Quansah, Doak and Caoimhín Kelleher will help balance the books. Liverpool will also amortise the costs of their record-breaking assets (and other new arrivals) over several years, meaning the Reds won’t take such a big financial hit for 2025–26.
Moreover, Liverpool have enjoyed staggering commercial growth in recent years, with their most recent accounts showing a revenue increase from £36 million to £308 million. For the first time ever, they topped Manchester United’s revenue intake. The Athletic reported earlier this summer that the club were projected to make over £700 million in turnover for 2024–25. Record revenues are also expected as a result of increased matchday intake following Anfield’s expansion and the substantial prize money earned from domestic and continental ventures.
Their lucrative new kit deal with adidas, which brought their partnership with Nike to an end, highlights their commercial growth. Their multi-year deal is believed to be worth £60 million a season, almost double what they were earning from Nike, and is the joint-fourth most valuable kit supplier contract in the Premier League.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Liverpool Net Spend: How Reds Were Able to Afford Record-Breaking Summer.