The £116 million Liverpool are paying for Florian Wirtz has shattered the Reds’ previous transfer record, so we thought it a good time to look back at the club’s 10 most expensive signings ever.
Unlike certain other Premier League clubs, Liverpool aren’t able to spend relentlessly in the transfer market.
Historically, however, they have spent big money on players they believe can take the club forward and be influential in the team’s quests for success.
Due to the nature of the transfer market’s incredible inflation in the modern era, each of Liverpool’s top 10 most expensive players were signed in the last eight years.
Here, we have used LFC History‘s listed transfer fees, inclusive of add-ons, to determine Liverpool’s most expensive players ever.
10. Mo Salah – £43.9m – 2017
• Apps: 401
• Goals 245
• Previous club: AS Roma
Has there been a better buy in our modern history? Probably not.
Though he commanded a record fee for the Reds when he arrived in 2017, Mo Salah‘s arrival still came slightly out of left field. Having already played in England with Chelsea, the Egyptian had left to rebuild his career in Italy.
While Jurgen Klopp favoured Julian Brandt as his new winger, the club’s data department convinced him that Salah had the potential to become world-class.
Whether they would have envisaged him going on to become the third-highest goalscorer in Liverpool’s history is another matter!
9. Cody Gakpo – £44m – 2023
• Apps: 128
• Goals 41
• Previous club: PSV Eindhoven
A surprise signing in the middle of the 2022/23 season, Gakpo was a late Christmas present from our chiefs on high as he was announced as a Red on December 28.
The Dutchman came into a team that was struggling and really endeared himself to fans, when he scored twice during Liverpool’s 7-0 annihilation of Man United.
For the remainder of his time under Klopp, he showed glimpses of excellence but never really excelled as the manager used him through the middle.
Arne Slot saw him for what he really is, though, a left-winger, and immediately his output improved.
Although he didn’t start every game of the title-winning season, he contributed more than his fair share of goals, netting 18 and setting up seven across all competitions.
8. Diogo Jota – £45m – 2020
• Apps: 182
• Goals 65
• Previous club: Wolves
When Jota arrived at Liverpool, he came into a squad that had just won the league with Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane and Mo Salah performing at the peak of their powers.
To get a look in among that front three takes some doing, and it is credit to Jota that he became a regular source of goals over the next few years.
Strangely excellent in the air for a 5’8″ man, and possessing a knack for being in the right place at the right time in the box, Jota was the perfect compliment to Liverpool’s already menacing attack.
7. Luis Diaz – £50m – 2022
• Apps: 148
• Goals 41
• Previous club: Porto
A January signing in 2022, Diaz signed for Liverpool at a time when they sensed greatness could be upon them, but they needed an extra push.
The Colombian provided that extra source of energy from the left, as he went into the regular rotation with Mane and Firmino.
Liverpool almost won the quadruple that year and while they didn’t quite manage that historic feat, the trophies they did win, Diaz played a major part in with his tenacity and ball-carrying ability.
6. Naby Keita – £52.75m – 2019
• Apps: 129
• Goals 11
• Previous club: RB Leipzig
While looking back on Naby Keita‘s Liverpool career, we can view it as a disappointment, it is worth remembering he was not a poor footballer.
Before signing, the Reds believed they could be getting a midfielder capable of becoming one of the best in the world. We saw evidence of the potential but only in glimpses.
He did win the Premier League and Champions League for Liverpool, but constant injury issues meant he would leave for free in 2023. His career hasn’t exactly taken an upward turn since; most recently, sitting on the bench on loan at Ferencvaros.
5. Dominik Szoboszlai – £60.1m – 2023
• Apps: 94
• Goals 15
• Previous club: RB Leipzig
Dominik Szoboszlai was the most expensive acquisition of Liverpool’s 2023 midfield rebuild, signing from RB Leipzig with the reputation of being a goalscoring attacking midfielder who could play wide, too.
However, Klopp had other plans for the Hungarian who quickly became a box-to-box midfielder thanks to his tireless running for the team.
Szoboszlai has been steadily improving for Liverpool, but he needs to really step up in the next couple of years to justify his price tag. He is, though, still just 24 years old.
4. Alisson – £65m – 2018
• Apps: 298
• Clean sheets: 125
• Goals 1
• Previous club: AS Roma
Having faced Liverpool in the European Cup semi-finals just a few months earlier, Alisson signed for Liverpool and became the world’s most expensive goalkeeper.
While he only held that title for a matter of weeks – Kepa Arrizabalaga’s move to Chelsea displaced him at the top – he did retain the mantle of the world’s best goalkeeper.
He will be remembered as arguably Liverpool’s greatest ‘keeper of all time and worth every penny.
3. Virgil van Dijk – £75m – 2017
• Apps: 319
• Goals 28
• Previous club: Southampton
The same can be said for Virgil van Dijk as a defender, whose arrival in January 2018 signalled the beginning of an incredible period of success for Liverpool.
One of the best centre-backs to ever play the game, Van Dijk exudes quality with every pass and immaculately-timed interception.
In the last two years, he has also stepped up brilliantly to the role of captain, leading by example on and off the pitch.
2. Darwin Nunez – £85.36m – 2022
• Apps: 143
• Goals 40
• Previous club: Benfica
Undoubtedly the biggest risk on this list that failed to pay off, Darwin Nunez has provided fans with several memorable moments but ultimately just didn’t fit the mould as a Liverpool striker.
Nunez is set to leave this summer, having scored 40 goals in 143 appearances for Liverpool. It was his link-up play and general in-game intelligence that made it difficult for him to excel, though.
By all accounts, this was Klopp’s only big misjudgment in the transfer market.
1. Florian Wirtz – £116.5m – 2025
• Previous club: Bayer Leverkusen
Going into the summer, Liverpool were expected to make some important signings.
Supporters didn’t, however, expect over £100 million to be spent on one of Europe’s best players who was being chased by Man City and Bayern Munich.
Landing Wirtz is a major statement from Liverpool and, unlike Nunez, the German international has a bigger body of work to assess him on, having already played 140 times for Bayer Leverkusen at just 22 years old.
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