Rousing The Kop has ranked the most expensive transfer sales Liverpool have agreed to in the club’s history, with the Reds receiving lucrative fees for a number of players.
Merseyside chiefs have made an art form of selling players for inflated sums in recent years. Few teams can rival the way that Liverpool have secured big offers for players on the fringes of their squad. The Anfield outfit have also moved on some of their biggest stars for big bids.
Liverpool have regularly known when to sell their big-name players to clinch expensive sales while granting their transfers. But the Reds have also seen a raft of senior stars leave for free at the end of their contracts, such as Naby Keita, Roberto Firmino and Georginio Wijnaldum.
Liverpool’s most expensive transfer sales ever
The sight of players leaving Merseyside for less than they are worth has been much rarer in recent seasons, though. Liverpool have generally received fair or above market value to sell the players the Reds no longer need, want or can offload to reinvest in the transfer window.
READ MORE: Liverpool’s most expensive transfers and record signings of all time
So, with that in mind, Rousing The Kop has taken a look at the Reds’ 10 most expensive sales through past transfer windows with Reds heroes and flops leaving Anfield for lucrative fees…
10) Rhian Brewster (to Sheffield United) – £23.5m
Sheffield United paid Liverpool a club record £23.5m to clinch the transfer of Rhian Brewster in October 2020. The Blades even also gave the Reds a 15% sell-on clause to seal their deal for the striker. Yet Brewster had only played four games for the Reds’ first-team in five years.
Brewster moved to Merseyside as a youth in 2015 with Liverpool paying Chelsea just £250k in compensation for his development. Yet the forward from east London struggled to make the grade at Anfield and would depart for Bramall Lane after a stint on loan to Swansea City.
The Reds never saw Brewster score a single goal at the senior level, either, through his mere 191 minutes. Yet Liverpool got an expensive sum for a player who had not delivered. He had only shown promise at the Under-18 (5 goals, 4 assists) and U21 level (13 goals, 10 assists).
9) Mamadou Sakho (to Crystal Palace) – £26m
Crystal Palace struck a permanent transfer from Liverpool for Mamadou Sakho in September 2017 worth £26m. The centre-half had spent the second half of the previous season on loan to the Eagles, who spent weeks discussing a permanent deal as Liverpool insisted on £30m.
Sakho left Paris Saint-Germain to go to Merseyside in September 2013 as Brendan Rodgers sought to improve his defensive depth. It also marked the Paris native’s first move outside of his native France. But Sakho would only go on to register 80 appearances as a Liverpool star.
He only appeared in more than 18 Premier League games in a single season through his final term at Anfield with 22 in 2015/16. Injury problems ruined his time at Liverpool and brought about his departure. They also followed Sakho to Selhurst Park, where he enjoyed 75 games.
8) Sadio Mane (to Bayern Munich) – £27.5m
Bayern Munich secured a deal with Liverpool for the transfer of Sadio Mane in June 2022 for up to £35m. Der FCB paid an initial £27.5m for the Senegalese sensation’s switch to Bavaria. His switch also included £5m in appearance-linked and £2.5m achievement-based add-ons.
Mane left Anfield as a modern Liverpool legend after a storied six-year spell on Merseyside. The forward won the Champions League, the Premier League, the EFL Cup and the FA Cup with the Reds. He also registered 120 goals and 42 assists in 269 games for the Anfield side.
Liverpool even saw Mane score at least 10 goals in every season of Premier League football he played with them. The winger departed with 90 goals in 196 top-flight matches, plus 30 assists. Yet Mane was also always happy to charge back and help Liverpool out defensively.
7) Xabi Alonso (to Real Madrid) – £30m
Real Madrid continued their summer of spending by signing Xabi Alonso from Liverpool for £30m in August 2009. The Basque midfielder returned to Spain to play with the Galacticos’ other signings in that window: Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka, Alvaro Arbeloa and Karim Benzema.
Alonso enjoyed five years at Anfield between the midfielder’s arrival from his academy side Real Sociedad in 2004 and joining Los Blancos. He even amassed 210 appearances, with 18 goals plus 19 assists, while adding honours to Liverpool’s trophy cabinet from his first term.
Liverpool won the Champions League in Alonso’s first season at Anfield and he lifted the FA Cup in 2005/06, too. He even helped Spain win Euro 2008, which La Roja defended in 2012 after also winning the 2010 World Cup in South Africa with 114-cap Alonso key in each title.
Alonso even added another Champions League title to his trophy cabinet with Real Madrid in 2013/14. The Tolosa-born technician also retired in 2017 as a one-time La Liga champion, three Bundesliga winner, two-time Copa del Rey champion and one-time DFB Pokal winner.
6) Christian Benteke (to Crystal Palace) – £32m
Crystal Palace paid Liverpool a club record fee of £32m to agree on the transfer of Christian Benteke in August 2016. The two clubs spent weeks locked in negotiations over the Belgian who only enjoyed one season at Anfield after the Reds paid Aston Villa £32.5m in July 2015.
Benteke may have scored 10 and assisted six goals during his 42 appearances for Liverpool but he only started 20. The Belgian often failed to convince Jurgen Klopp that he merited a spot in the German’s plans after joining the Merseyside outfit while Rodgers was in charge.
Rodgers decided that Benteke was worth signing after offering Aston Villa 49 goals and 12 assists in 101 games. But Klopp did not share Rodgers’ view on the centre-forward. Crystal Palace would even only enjoy 37 goals and 11 assists from Benteke’s 177 outings for them.
5) Fabinho (to Al-Ittihad) – £40m
Liverpool capitalised on interest from Saudi Arabia to seal one of their most expensive sales yet in July 2023 as Fabinho joined Al-Ittihad in a £40m transfer. The Brazilian left Merseyside after a trophy-laden five-year stint to play alongside Benzema and N’Golo Kante in Jeddah.
Fabinho was a transformative signing for Klopp as he brought balance to a team reeling from losing the 2017/18 Champions League final to Real Madrid. The midfielder proved to be the ideal shield for the Reds’ backline and was instrumental in establishing any passing patterns.
The bite the Brazilian brought to Anfield gave Liverpool’s engine room a ruthless presence to win possession. He also left the Reds as a Champions League, a Premier League, an EFL Cup and an FA Cup winner. Klopp even used Fabinho’s versatility at times to play as a centre-half.
4) Raheem Sterling (to Manchester City) – £44m
Manchester City reached an agreement with Liverpool for the transfer of Raheem Sterling in July 2015. The Etihad Stadium side paid an initial £44m for the winger, who was 20 years old at the time. Liverpool secured a further £5m in add-ons with the sale of Sterling to Man City.
Anfield chiefs initially resisted the Citizens’ pursuit of Sterling but, ultimately, caved after the forward asked to leave. He even turned down a new contract on Merseyside, where Sterling had been since he left Queens Park Rangers for £600k plus a 20% sell-on in February 2010.
Sterling had only offered Liverpool 23 goals and 22 assists over his 129 appearances at the club. But Manchester City saw more in Sterling and relished 131 goals plus 73 assists in 339 games. He also won four Premier League titles, the EFL Cup five times and the FA Cup once.
3) Fernando Torres (to Chelsea) – £50m
Liverpool stunned the Premier League in January 2011 by agreeing on the expensive sale of Fernando Torres to Chelsea. The Blues spent £50m to see the Spanish striker switch Anfield for Stamford Bridge in a British record transfer. Yet Liverpool came out of their deal happier.
Torres was a hero at Anfield and one of the best centre-forwards in Europe at the time of his departure. Yet after scoring 81 goals and assisting 19 in 142 games with the Reds, he only hit home 45 times and created 34 goals in 172 appearances following his move to west London.
Chelsea even saw Torres fluff his lines with the goal at his mercy all too often to overlook his highlight moments. He cut a frustrating figure leading the Blues’ line and angered their fans after missing an open goal away to Manchester United while 3-1 behind in September 2011.
But trophies did follow Torres’ transfer to Chelsea, having failed to win any at Liverpool. The Blues won the Champions League in 2011/12 and the Europa League in 2012/13. Torres also scored their goal that sent Chelsea through in the 2011/12 semi-finals away to FC Barcelona.
2) Luis Suarez (to FC Barcelona) – £75m
Liverpool weathered interest from Arsenal and their infamous £40m plus £1 bid to sign Luis Suarez in July 2013. But the Reds would agree to one of Liverpool’s most expensive sales to date 12 months later when Suarez signed for La Liga giants FC Barcelona in a £75m transfer.
Arsenal believed they could coax Suarez away but Liverpool argued their bid did not trigger a release clause. Anfield chiefs also came to love their refusal to do a deal as Suarez scored 31 goals in just 33 Premier League games as the Reds finished second in the 2013/14 title race.
His haul that term even took Suarez to 82 goals plus 41 assists in 133 games for Liverpool in all competitions. But Barcelona then came calling, despite FIFA slapping Suarez with a four-month ban for biting Georginio Chiellini as Uruguay played Italy during the 2014 World Cup.
1) Philippe Coutinho (to FC Barcelona) – £105m
Barcelona agreed to one of the most expensive transfers of all time in January 2018 with the Catalan club’s signing of Philippe Coutinho from Liverpool. The Brazilian playmaker set Barca back an initial £105m. But the Reds even included add-ons that could take the fee to £142m.
It marked an incredible profit for the Anfield outfit, who had only paid Inter Milan £8.5m to sign Coutinho in January 2013. Liverpool also came out on the better side of his sale, having held Barcelona to ransom for a player who never justified the expensive fee the Reds made.
Liverpool forced Barcelona to break their back for Coutinho after he offered seven goals and six assists in his final 14 Premier League appearances. His haul took the Rio de Janeiro native to 54 goals and 45 assists in 201 Reds matches in all competitions, mostly off the left wing.
Yet Coutinho only offered Barcelona 25 goals and 14 assists over 106 appearances. He even left Camp Nou on loan to Bayern Munich in 2019/20 and to Aston Villa in 2022, having failed to adapt to the Blaugrana’s style between his frequent spells on the sidelines through injury.
The best that Coutinho ever achieved after leaving Liverpool also came during his time with Der FCB. He offered Bayern Munich 11 goals and nine assists in a season in which they even won the Champions League and Bundesliga. Coutinho also won La Liga twice for Barcelona.
