Liverpool have funded an era of great success by offloading players at precisely the right time
When we think of Liverpool's rise to prominence under Jurgen Klopp, we tend to reflect on the quality of the club’s recruitment in that period.
Rightly so, too. After all, signings such as Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk, Alisson Becker, Andy Robertson and Sadio Mane have been key in allowing the Reds to build a team capable of competing for the very best honours, year after year.
But while buying players is a skill, and a vital one at that, Liverpool have also mastered the art of selling in recent years. Their ability to continuously replenish their transfer kitty through smart sales has allowed them to evolve and improve their team, and their squad, each and every year.
Indeed, since Klopp’s arrival in October 2015 alone, the Reds have raised more than £500 million ($600m) in sales, with Sadio Mane and Takumi Minamino the latest big-money departures.
Liverpool transfer sales each season under Klopp
Season
Biggest Sale
Fee
Total Sales
2022-23
Sadio Mane
£35m
£71.5m
2021-22
Harry Wilson
£12m
£43m
2020-21
Rhian Brewster
£23.5m
£52.5m
2019-20
Danny Ings
£20m
£40m
2018-19
Dominic Solanke
£24m
£45.5m
2017-18
Philippe Coutinho
£142m
£185.5m
2016-17
Christian Benteke
£32m
£86m
Total
£524m (Approx)
Liverpool top 10 most expensive salesGetty Images10Rhian Brewster | £23.5m | Sheffield United | 2020
A player who was tipped for big things after shining at the Reds’ academy, Brewster in fact made only four senior appearances, enjoying a productive loan spell at Swansea before being sold to Sheffield United.
The striker’s time at Bramall Lane has been tough, with only four goals in his first 46 appearances, but he is still young enough to deliver on his considerable talent.
AdvertisementGetty9Dominic Solanke | £24m | Bournemouth | 2019
Another prime example of Liverpool’s willingness to invest in young talent with the aim of developing them, if not for their own first-team then to be sold on at a profit further down the line.
Solanke cost the Reds around £3m ($3.6m) when joining from Chelsea in 2017, and would make 27 appearances for the senior side, scoring once.
He left after 18 months on Merseyside, Bournemouth paying a hefty fee for the once-capped England international. Solanke took time to find his feet on the south coast, but did so spectacularly in the 2021-22 season, scoring 30 goals as the Cherries won promotion to the Premier League.
Getty Images8Mamadou Sakho | £26m | Crystal Palace | 2017
A rarity, in that he is a player who pretty publicly, and spectacularly, fell out with Klopp at Anfield.
The Frenchman was a popular figure among supporters, but things unravelled for him after he was accused in April 2016 by UEFA of taking a banned substance. The case was later dismissed, but by then Sakho had missed out on Liverpool’s run to the Europa League final and France’s Euro 2016 campaign.
That summer, he was sent home from the Reds’ pre-season tour of the USA after a series of disciplinary issues, including being late for the team flight and missing a number of treatment sessions. He would never play for the first team again, joining Palace in 2017 after an initial loan spell.
Getty7Xabi Alonso | £30m | Real Madrid | 2009
When the demise of the Rafa Benitez era at Liverpool is discussed, the sale of Alonso is generally seen as the key turning point.
The Spaniard had actually looked to leave the previous year, when Benitez had sought to replace him with Aston Villa’s Gareth Barry, but he would be sold after an excellent 2008-09 campaign in which he had played a key role in Liverpool finishing second in the Premier League behind Manchester United.
Liverpool, under the ownership of Tom Hicks and George Gillett, were in a position where they had to sell because of mounting financial problems, and as such their attempts to replace Alonso were doomed. Alberto Aquilani never came close to doing so.