Comparing Man Utd and Liverpool’s net spend since Jurgen Klopp arrived in 2015

Manchester United and Liverpool are both financial powerhouses, so we’ve had a look at their net transfer spend since Jurgen Klopp took over at the Merseyside club in October 2015. It makes for interesting reading…

United are known for spending huge amounts of money, but their inconsistent transfer policy has meant that their huge squad is overpaid and underperforming.

While some improvements were made under Erik ten Hag last season, United have regressed in 2023-24 and only repeated several of their worst mistakes in the transfer market.

Liverpool have leapfrogged their rivals since Klopp arrived at Anfield, in part thanks to the club’s more careful transfer decisions.

The Reds clinched the Champions League in 2018-19 with a squad that included clever acquisitions like Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane and then went on to finally win their first Premier League the following season.

They then suffered with injuries in 2020-21 but came storming back the following year, winning the FA Cup and League Cup, as well as making it to the Champions League final and taking the Premier League race to the final day.

While last season was a blip, Liverpool are currently top of the Premier League and look in much better condition than their arch rivals.

Meanwhile, United are stuttering. Out of Europe after finishing bottom of their Champions League group, Ten Hag’s side seem to either win matches spawnily or lose them ineptly.

But what about the difference in transfer spending between United and Liverpool in recent years?

We’ve had a look at the figures from Transfermarkt and picked out the five biggest purchases and five biggest sales for both clubs since Klopp arrived in October 2015, as well as figured out the net spend for both clubs.

Liverpool

Five Biggest Purchases
1. Virgil van Dijk – £76.19milion
2. Darwin Nunez – £67.5million
3. Dominik Szoboszlai – £60.00million
4. Alisson – £56.25million
5. Naby Keita – £54.00million

Five Biggest Sales
1. Philippe Coutinho – £121.50million
2. Fabinho – £40.00million
3. Sadio Mane – £28.80million
4. Christian Benteke – £28.08million
5. Mamadou Sakho – £25.38million

Total Spent: £822.84million
Total Sold: £490.98million

Total Net Spend: £331.86million

Manchester United

Five Biggest Purchases
1. Paul Pogba – £94.50million
2. Antony – £84.3million
3. Harry Maguire – £78.30million
4. Jadon Sancho – £76.5million
5. Romelu Lukaku – £76.23million

Five Biggest Sales
1. Romelu Lukaku – £66.60million
2. Henrikh Mkhitaryan – £30.60million
3. Daniel James – £26.19million
4. Morgan Schniderlin – £20.70million
5. Anthony Elanga – £15.00million

Total Spent: £1.22billion
Total Sold: £285.31million

Total Net Spend: £934.69million

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