1) Liverpool – €442m
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The Reds have spent the last few seasons struggling to qualify for the Champions League. And the primary reason has been a lack of stability at Anfield, something Jurgen Klopp is looking to provide now.
They were a club that spent a lot of money in buying players to suit different managers’ agendas and it had a knock-on effect when the next manager arrived and culled the squad to make way for new signings. Ever since Rafa Benitez moved on, Roy Hodgson, Kenny Dalglish and Brendan Rodgers all came, saw and failed to conquer.
It was the loss of Xabi Alonso that hit them first and it took years for Liverpool’s midfield to recover. Then it was the controversial move by Fernando Torres to Chelsea for a record-breaking fee that seriously hurt the Reds. They also lost Javier Mascherano the same year.
Other players such as Raul Meireles, David N’Gog, Charlie Adam, Alberto Aquilani, Andy Carroll, Dirk Kuyt, Daniel Agger and Pepe Reina were also offloaded. It was the sale of Luis Suarez to Barcelona that eventually saw them recoup a lot of money. And only the next season they sold Raheem Sterling to Manchester City for close to £50m and Fabio Borini to Sunderland.
They capped it off in 2016 with the sale of Christian Benteke, Jordon Ibe and Joe Allen – all to Premier League teams who threw money at the Anfield club to sign them in an what was an inflated market thanks to the highly lucrative television deal that came into effect this season.
Data from CIES Football Observatory
