The message from the Liverpool fans was clear. As the dust settled on their team’s pulsating 3-2 victory over Newcastle United at St James’s Park last week, the away supporters clamored for their opponents to “hand him over.” The “him” in question, of course, was Newcastle’s wantaway striker Alexander Isak.
A week on from that dramatic win on Tyneside, the Liverpool faithful got their wish as he finally sealed a British-record £125 million ($169m) move on deadline day.
It was an eye-watering sum of money in a summer where the Premier League champions have flexed their financial muscles more than any club in the world. Midfielder Florian Wirtz — who joined from Bayer Leverkusen in a £100m deal that could rise to £116m with add-ons back in June — has barely kicked a ball in anger and yet has already been usurped as the club’s record signing, while Liverpool’s total expenditure this summer sits at around £450m, inclusive of add-ons.
In a landscape where clubs live and die by their compliance with financial rules, both domestically (Profit and Sustaintability Rules, or PSR) and in Europe (Financial Fair Play), there will understandably be confusion in some quarters about Liverpool’s ability to spend so freely this summer.
Only Chelsea have spent more in a single transfer window (almost £600m in 2022-23), and yet Liverpool are not in danger of breaching either the Premier League or UEFA’s financial regulations. So how have they done it?
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The first indication that this would be no ordinary summer for Liverpool arrived back in April. Fresh from putting pen to paper on a two-year contract extension at Anfield, forward Mohamed Salah was asked by club media whether he felt his team were poised to continue challenging for major honors.
“If I don’t believe that I would have not signed,” Salah said. The following week, captain Virgil van Dijk sent a pointed message to owners Fenway Sports Group (FSG) before signing a contract extension of his own.
“I think Liverpool should be able to challenge for titles in the upcoming years,” the defender said. “Whatever happens in terms of players going out, players coming in, I think it should be a big summer. I think (FSG) are planning to make it a big summer, so we all have to trust the board, as a Liverpool-connected fan, to do the right job.”
While Salah and Van Dijk would surely not have imagined their trust in the club’s hierarchy would be repaid so emphatically, it stands to reason that both players — who are still at the very peak of their powers — committed their futures to Liverpool because they had received assurances their loyalty would be rewarded with a significant show of ambition in the transfer market.
Externally, it might appear that Liverpool have strayed from their traditional policy of spending cautiously; however, years of shrewd financial planning have enabled the club to really take the handbrake off this summer.
“The explanation for Liverpool being able to go so big on Alexander Isak, and in the transfer market in general this summer, is pretty simple,” Dave Powell, Chief Business of Football Writer for Reach PLC, tells ESPN. “Not only have they built themselves up to a point where revenues are among the biggest in world football, they have also arrived at a summer where they can effectively player trade.
“They knew they could come into this summer on the back of a strong 2024-25, when they bagged not far short of £90m from the Champions League when including matchday revenue, and picked up extra funds from winning the Premier League. It will be a bumper year for the Reds and one where they likely swing back into the black. Revenues are expected to top £700m for the very first time.”
With record revenues having broadened the parameters of Liverpool’s financial capabilities, the club’s impressive track record of recouping significant fees for departing players has also afforded them further headroom in terms of the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules (PSR).
The exits of first-team stars such as Luis Díaz, Darwin Núñez and Jarell Quansah helped generate around £260m this summer, inclusive of add-ons. By contrast, title rivals Arsenal — despite spending less than Liverpool this summer — end the window with a higher net spend, having failed to secure significant fees for any of their outgoing players.
While the likes of Arsenal, Manchester City and Chelsea have been active across the past two transfer windows, Liverpool’s only incoming last summer was forward Federico Chiesa for an initial fee of £10m. In each of the previous two summers, Liverpool opted against pursuing expensive alternatives after missing out on their top midfield targets (Moisés Caicedo in 2023; Martín Zubimendi in 2024). That patience, it seems, has now been rewarded.
“Premier League clubs can lose £105m over a three-year period, with allowable deductions for investment in infrastructure, the academy, the women’s team, and community initiatives,” Powell explains. “The period from 2021-22 to 2023-24 saw the Reds post a profit of £7m, a loss of £9m and a loss of £57m for the last three years. In terms of allowable deductions over that period the club had £33m, £35m and £39m, that means that the club had a positive PSR position of £48m, which when added to the allowed £105m means they had headroom of £153m. They had absolutely no worries.
“Given that we are now in the 2025-26 cycle for PSR, the Reds could lose more than £200m and still be compliant. They won’t do that, and that doesn’t take into account player exits which they have made this summer, many of which have been homegrown, which means that the guaranteed sums are pure profit as there is no book value on the accounts to be cleared before accounting profit is realized.”
Liverpool’s critics will point to the fact that this summer’s spending spree is at odds with comments made by former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp when, ahead of his team’s clash with Manchester City in October 2022, he conceded that his team couldn’t compete with the financial might of their rivals, who are majority owned by the vice president of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Mansour.
“Nobody can compete with City,” he said. “You have the best team in the world, and you put in the best striker on the market. No matter what it costs, you just do it. City won’t like it, nobody will like it, but you know the answer. What does Liverpool do? We cannot act like them. It’s not possible. Not possible.”
Klopp also took aim at Newcastle following their takeover by the Public Investment Fund (PIF) of Saudi Arabia, claiming that there was “no ceiling” to the club’s spending. But, almost three years on, those of a Newcastle persuasion would be justified in feeling it is Liverpool — alongside the other traditional ‘Big Six’ sides — whose ceiling is much higher on account of their historic commercial success.
For Liverpool, though, there is a sense that this summer has offered the chance to lay the groundwork for a dynasty. While still abiding by the rules, the Premier League champions have assembled a squad with the quality to challenge for the game’s biggest prizes not just this season, but for the foreseeable future.
For perhaps the first time ever, Liverpool have ‘won’ the transfer window. With the exception of Crystal Palace defender Marc Guéhi — whose £35m transfer collapsed when Palace withdrew from the deal at the eleventh hour — they secured all of their top targets, all of whom still have their peak years ahead of them. (Isak is 25, Wirtz 22, Hugo Ekitiké 23, Jeremie Frimpong 24, and Milos Kerkez just 21. Defender Giovanni Leoni, a longer-term prospect, turned 18 in December.)
Of course, success in the market does not always translate to success on the pitch. Chelsea have famously spent over £2 billion in recent years under the ownership of Todd Boehly but, at times, that has posed more problems than solutions.
Even with all the additions, this Liverpool team is not infallible. Despite winning their opening three games of the season, Slot’s side have looked unconvincing at times, particularly in defense, and the squad will take time to gel after a summer of such change. Still, Slot has never really subscribed to the idea of Liverpool being underdogs and will be under no illusions about the expectation on his team to deliver this term.
“We are Liverpool, the pressure is always on,” he said earlier this month. “Even if we bring 10 players in, or no players in, there is always pressure when you wear a Liverpool shirt.”
For Liverpool owners FSG — who have previously been maligned by some quarters of the fanbase for their perceived lack of investment — this summer reaffirms their commitment to the club they briefly considered selling in 2022. Such investment, however, does not come without risk.
“The money that is back through the door means that Liverpool could well make a profit despite their heavy spending, but the flip side of the coin is that there is risk,” Powell says. “The club needs to be part of the Champions League elite and do well in the competition to keep the big money rolling in to support spending, and they need to keep being a dominant player in the Premier League to keep big brands wanting to align themselves with the Reds.
“Such spending doesn’t come without an element of risk, but in such a high stakes game as elite European football, Liverpool will feel that the investment this summer is about solidifying and strengthening their position on the field so that they can do bigger things off it. It goes hand in hand for FSG.”
In breaking records to sign Isak this summer, Liverpool have further reinforced their status as the team to beat in the Premier League this season. But, having spent so big, the champions will be hoping that it reaps immediate rewards.