Liverpool £277m transfer spend truth confirmed as FSG…

Liverpool £277m transfer spend truth confirmed as FSG approach laid bare

Liverpool do not rank in the top 10 of leading European teams when it comes to net transfer spend over the last decade.

Boffins at the CIES Football Observatory have delved into the numbers regarding every window since the summer of 2013 involving sides from big five European leagues in England, Italy, Spain, Germany and France.

Using widely reported fees that include all eventual add-ons, they have calculated the Reds have spent £1.02billion on transfers, placing them eighth in the overall list of top spenders.

Indeed, the current squad has been assembled at a cost of £670m, behind only Manchester City (£874m), Manchester United (£735m), Chelsea (£701m) and Paris Saint-Germain (£666m).

However, that Liverpool have recouped £632m in sales to teams in the top five leagues - putting them 12th in the table of transfer income - means they have a balance in arrears of £277m.

And that puts the Reds - who have been owned by Fenway Sports Group throughout the period analysed - in 17th place in the overall net spend rankings, behind 11 other Premier League clubs including West Ham United (seventh), Newcastle United (10th), Everton (11th), Tottenham Hotspur (12th), Aston Villa (13th), Crystal Palace (15th) and Wolverhampton Wanderers (16th).

Manchester United (£1.09bn) have by some distance accrued the biggest net spend, with Manchester City (£778m), Paris Saint-Germain (£749m) and Barcelona (£646m) next.

Arsenal (fifth) and Chelsea (sixth) are the other Premier League teams in the top 10, which is completed by Italian duo Juventus and AC Milan in eighth and ninth respectively.

In terms of money spent on transfers, Chelsea lead the way on £1.57bn, with Barcelona next (£1.56bn) and then Manchester City (£1.55bn) and Manchester United (£1.51bn).

Monaco earned the most from sales with £1.01bn, with Chelsea next. Manchester City and are the only Premier League club to have gained a higher income than Liverpool from transfer sales over the last 10 years.

Real Madrid are third in the list which explains why they are outside the top 20 in terms of overall highest net spend over the last decade, with Bayern Munich in 13th. Premier League clubs occupy 12 of the top 20 places regards biggest next spenders.

French sides Lille and Lyon are the clubs to have the healthiest balance, having totalled positive net spends of £326m and £243m respectively. All of the current Premier League teams have a negative balance regards transfer over the last decade.

READ NEXT:

Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.

Already a member? Sign in here