Over the past 10 years, only four other Premier League clubs have consistently found value in the transfer market other than Liverpool, a new financial study claims.
It has been the club’s responsibility since Fenway Sports Group took over in 2010, operating under a self-sufficient model that can only survive with experience in the transfer market.
During the FSG era, there have been considerable outlays, with the club’s 15 most expensive signings during his 12 years in charge so far.
Fortunately, the approach has been refined since the days when Andy Carroll joined for a record fee, and it’s rare now that a transfer doesn’t pay off for Liverpool.
According to the CIES Football Observatory, in a study running from 2012 to now, of the £878.5m spent on players over the last 10 years, the Reds received £829.6m in talent.
That’s a ‘loss’ of £48.9m, or 5.6 per cent, which actually stands out well compared to the rest of the Premier League.
Man City (two percent ‘loss’), Brighton (0.3 percent ‘gain’), Tottenham (0.6 percent ‘gain’) and Wolves (seven percent ‘gain’) are the only other teams that have found more value.
Among Europe’s top five leagues, there are 40 clubs considered worse than Liverpool in value seeking, with Ligue 1’s Stade Rennais leading the way with a “loss” of 30.1 per cent.
Only six clubs have invested more in players than Liverpool since 2012, with Juventus (22.7%), PSG (16%), Man United (14.9%) and Chelsea (10.1%) recording considerable losses in their investment.
Clear oversight when it comes to Man City’s finances aside, the study serves to highlight just how effective Liverpool’s talent recruitment and identification model has been.
Although Michael Edwards has since moved on, the foundation is still in place for this to continue under his replacement, Julian Ward.
