Liverpool are considered the third most sustainable squad in Europe’s top five leagues, with a study placing them behind only Man City and LaLiga’s current leaders Real Sociedad.
Since the arrival of Jurgen Klopp, the Reds’ strategic planning and desire to look at the bigger picture has been key in constructing a squad capable of winning silverware.
Considered approaches to the transfer window have been needed with a limited budget in comparison to their closest rivals, with Liverpool balancing new arrivals with new contracts.
Ibrahima Konate was the only addition to the squad in 2021 as Liverpool instead reinvested in the players who have been at the heart of the success under Klopp.
Jordan Henderson (2025), Virgil van Dijk (2025), Trent Alexander-Arnold (2025), Fabinho (2026), Alisson (2027) and Andy Robertson (2026) all penned new deals to keep the key cohort intact.
This level of squad stability forms part of team sustainability, and the latest study from the CIES Football Observatory reveals Liverpool are the third most sustainable squad from 98 teams across the Premier League, LaLiga, Serie A, Bundesliga and Ligue 1.
- Liverpool the third most sustainable squad in Europe’s top 5 leagues
- Man City (100) and Real Sociedad (99.7) in first and second
- Weighted by player age, time at club and remaining contract length
The report assesses each squad based on the players’ age (the younger the better), average stay in the first team (the longer the better) and the duration of their contracts (the longer the better), all of which is then weighed by domestic league minutes.
The data refers to the 2020/21 season and for the Reds, their lineups had an average age of 28, with their stay of 3.8 years — the second-highest behind Burnley (4.07) — and remaining contract years of 3.2 totalling an index of 97.7.
The cohesion within the side due to the length of time spent together would, therefore, be considerable for Liverpool with stability often positively correlated to results.
The reliance on a key group of players who are contracted to remain over the medium to long-term help maintain a desirable level of stability from one season to the next.
It’s another nod to the strategy in place at Liverpool, one they have used to great effect so far but it’s one that needs constant tweaking as to not push the age bracket too far towards the thirties.
The new contracts will do just that and it means the rise of the likes of Harvey Elliott, Curtis Jones, Konate and Alexander-Arnold will be key, in addition to any new young signing in the pipeline.
RB Leipzig (90), Man United (90), Leeds (84.6), Newcastle (83.9), Real Madrid (79.1), Athletic Club (74.3) and Tottenham (74) round off the top 10.
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