The Premier League net spend table since Liverpool sold Coutinho in 2018
Liverpool have the lowest net spend of the Premier League’s ‘big six’ since their club-record sale of Philippe Coutinho to Barcelona back in January 2018 – even accounting for the £200million+ they’ve spent this summer window.
Talking up the ‘Coutinho money’ has been a long-running theme when it comes to Liverpool in recent years. But seven years on from that game-changing sale, how do the overall numbers stack up? We’ve taken a closer look.
“I don’t think about money. Nobody told me that I have to think about money because we are always reasonable, we always try to do the right thing,” former Liverpool told reporters shortly after the sale went through back in January 2018.
“Obviously we don’t hesitate to spend the money, we did a few times, but it is not about the moment, it is about making the right decision.
“If anything obviously right would be there in the window then nobody would not do it and we say, OK, let’s go for it.
“But it is not about doing something to cool the situation down or show the people we don’t sleep.
“It is only about right or wrong and at this moment in this situation it is right.”
The Brazilian playmaker struggled to live up to his price tag in Barcelona, but Liverpool reinvested the money effectively by bringing in Virgil van Dijk for a club-record fee that same transfer window before bringing in Fabinho and Alisson later that year.
Those additions proved pivotal as Liverpool went on to win the Champions League and Premier League in the following years. Van Dijk and Alisson remain influential players to this day as Klopp’s successor Arne Slot delivered another Premier League title in his first season at the helm.
Still, seven years on from that sale it’s safe to say that Liverpool have spent the ‘Coutinho money’ by this point – to the extent whereby it’s almost become a meme in and of itself on social media.
But Liverpool’s net spend is considerably less than both Chelsea and Manchester United, who have considerably less silverware to show for their lavish spending in recent years.
Even after smashing their transfer record to sign Florian Wirtz from Bayern Leverkusen, the Reds have spent less than half of what Chelsea have in absolute terms since January 2018.
Chelsea have brought in considerably more in sales than Liverpool, recouping over €1billion in offloading players, but their net spend is still almost €500million more than Liverpool’s in that time period. Manchester United’s is over €400million more.
Liverpool could conceivably break their transfer record once again to sign Alexander Isak from Newcastle United and still their net spend over the last seven and a half seasons would be less than Arsenal’s and Tottenham’s.
We’ve included all 20 clubs in the Premier League for the upcoming 2025-26 campaign for reference, although only 11 of them have been ever-presents in the top flight since the 2017-18 campaign.
Sunderland are the only club in this top 20 to have turned a profit in their transfer dealings since 2018, and they’ve been out of the Premier League that entire time. Next season they’ll return after eight years in the Football League wilderness.
Here’s a full breakdown of every club in the Premier League’s net spend since the January 2018 transfer window. Figures cited are taken from Transfermarkt.
1. Chelsea
Expenditure: €2.163bn
Income: €1.134bn
Net Spend: -€1.03bn
2. Manchester United
Expenditure: €1.354bn
Income: €385m
Net Spend: -€969m
3. Tottenham
Expenditure: €1.098bn
Income: €346m
Net Spend: -€752m
4. Arsenal
Expenditure: €1.12bn
Income: €386m
Net Spend: -€734m
5. Manchester City
Expenditure: €1.419bn
Income: €753m
Net Spend: -€666m
6. Liverpool
Expenditure: €1.028bn
Income: €491m
Net Spend: -€537m
7. West Ham
Expenditure: €886m
Income: €392m
Net Spend: -€494m
8. Newcastle United
Expenditure: €706m
Income: €253m
Net Spend: -€453m
9. Aston Villa
Expenditure: €855m
Income: €493m
Net Spend: -€362m
10. Brighton & Hove Albion
Expenditure: €799m
Income: €498m
Net Spend: -€301m
11. Fulham
Expenditure: €457m
Income: €188m
Net Spend: -€269m
12. Nottingham Forest
Expenditure: €487m
Income: €228m
Net Spend: -€259m
13. Crystal Palace
Expenditure: €539m
Income: €361m
Net Spend: -€178m
14. Wolves
Expenditure: €783m
Income: €618m
Net Spend: -€165m
15. Bournemouth
Expenditure: €520m
Income: €361m
Net Spend: -€159m
16. Burnley
Expenditure: €372m
Income: €253
Net Spend: -€119m
17. Brentford
Expenditure: €342
Income: €232
Net Spend: -€110m
18. Everton
Expenditure: €568m
Income: €460m
Net Spend: -€108m
19. Leeds United
Expenditure: €460m
Income: €354m
Net Spend: -€106m
20. Sunderland
Expenditure: €58
Income: €99
Net Spend: +€41m
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