Liverpool’s top 10 most expensive signings

Liverpool have been praised for spending their money wisely when it comes to transfer dealings and rebuilding squads, especially under Jurgen Klopp, but who is the Club’s most expensive signing of all time?

Football FanCast has taken a look at Liverpool’s most expensive signings in their history, with a detailed look at the top 10.

All data correct as of 7th June 2024.

Here’s a detailed look at Liverpool’s 10 most expensive signings:

10

Andy Carroll (2011)

£35m from Newcastle

Andy Carroll signed for Liverpool in 2011 as a 22-year-old after playing an important role in the Magpies’ Championship promotion the previous season.

Liverpool had just sold Fernando Torres to Chelsea for £50m, and it was Carroll who came in to snatch the vacated number nine and bolster his side’s transformed attack – alongside Luis Suarez from Ajax for £23m – under manager Kenny Dalglish.

The fee was a Club record at the time, and surprisingly, wasn’t broken until the agreement between Liverpool and RB Leipzig for the transfer of Naby Keita in August 2017.

It’s safe to say Dalglish would’ve been thankful he brought in two strikers, rather than one.

9

Luis Diaz (2022)

£37.5m from Porto

Liverpool paid an initial £37.5m to sign Luis Diaz on a five-year contract in the January 2022 transfer window, with £12.5m in potential bonuses.

The Colombian winger was having his best-ever goalscoring season at Porto, netting 14 times in 18 appearances as his former side went on to lift Portugal’s Primeira Liga that season.

The 25-year-old at the time had strong links to Tottenham Hotspur after it was reported the north London Club had a £38m bid rejected. Originally, Diaz was Klopp’s priority for the summer window, but he and the higher-ups at Anfield soon realised they needed to step up their interest in the skilful dribbler to prevent him moving elsewhere.

8

Cody Gakpo (2023)

£40m from PSV

Having the opportunity to open a Christmas present early is one of the best feelings growing up, but what about a late one?

Cody Gakpo provided a late Christmas treat for Liverpool fans at the end of December 2022 when he joined for an undisclosed fee – thought to be between £35m and £45m – in what was a record sale for his former Club, PSV.

The versatile forward was 23 at the time and coming off the back of an eye-catching World Cup in Qatar, where he scored three goals to help the Netherlands reach the quarter-finals, before losing to eventual winners Argentina.

Gakpo had been heavily linked to Manchester United at the time following the abrupt exit of Cristiano Ronaldo, but Erik ten Hag’s side instead had signed Antony from Ajax in the summer.

7

Diogo Jota (2020)

£41m from Wolves

Liverpool made sure to capitalise on the additional time before the beginning of the 2020/21 season, which had been delayed due to the pandemic, by signing Diogo Jota on a five-year contract from Wolves.

Klopp’s side had just lifted the Premier League, and it was felt that he needed more depth in attacking positions after already securing the signatures of Thiago Alcantara from Bayern Munich and Kostas Tsimikas from Olympiacos.

The Merseyside Club only around £30m net on the Portuguese forward, as Ki-Jana Hoever, who Liverpool negotiated a 15% sell-on clause for, moved the opposite way to Molineux.

6

Fabinho (2018)

£44m from Monaco

Fabinho credited the exceptional infrastructure in place at Liverpool upon his arrival at the Club in May 2018, but it was he who ended up being the much-needed spine for his side.

Having made over 150 appearances at his previous side Monaco, the Brazilian midfielder was sought-after due to his ability to play anywhere in the middle of the park.

With Emre Can on his way out as a free agent to sign for Juventus, Fabinho was deemed as the perfect replacement for Klopp’s side.

5

Naby Keita (2018)

£48m from RB Leipzig

Many Liverpool fans would quiver at the thought of Keita being in their top five most expensive signings of all time, but that’s exactly where he lies.

Keita surpassed Carroll’s 2011 £35m record when Liverpool agreed to trigger the midfielder’s release clause with RB Leipzig in August 2017, securing his move to the Club for the following season.

It was mostly a tale of two stories for Keita at Liverpool. The first began with promise, potential and hope; the second ended with injury, inconsistency and, eventually, his inevitable release.

4

Dominik Szoboszlai (2023)

£60m from RB Leipzig

When it was announced that James Milner, Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain would all be leaving the Club, Klopp knew he would need to splash the cash on a brand-new midfield in the summer of 2023.

Soon after completing the signing of Alexis Mac Allister from Brighton for £35m, Liverpool told RB Leipzig they would be triggering the £60m release clause for Dominik Szoboszlai.

The Hungary captain had won the DFB-Pokal with Leipzig and secured a strong third-place finish in the Bundesliga, but it was his impressive performances on the international stage as Hungary’s captain that caught Liverpool’s eye.

3

Darwin Nunez (2022)

£64m from Benfica

The jury is still out on whether Darwin Nunez will be a success at Liverpool or not.

Even though the Uruguayan has popped up to score crucial goals on big occasions – like his brace at St James’ Park in August 2023 – his performances have been more miss than hit since joining in the summer of 2022.

Nunez signed for an initial £64m from Benfica, but the fee could rise to a potential £85m with add-ons and bonuses, which would make him a Club-record signing – a title the Reds may be hopeful to avoid if his current fortunes continue.

It started so well for Nunez just weeks after he put pen to paper, when his goal secured Liverpool the Community Shield against Manchester City, a side they had lost the league to by a point the season prior.

Nunez’s opposing striker that day was Erling Haaland, and a comparison between the two tells you all you need to know.

2

Alisson (2018)

£67m from Roma

Alisson became the world’s most expensive goalkeeper in the summer of 2018 when he signed for Liverpool from Roma on a six-year contract.

The deal surpassed Man City’s £35m signing of Ederson in 2017 and turned out to be a pivotal turning point during Klopp’s tenure at the Club, having previously lost out on major trophies due to goalkeeping errors.

Although officials at the Merseyside Club didn’t reveal the actual fee, his former Club, Roma, said the deal was worth up to £67m.

Records are meant to be broken, however, and this one didn’t last long, as Chelsea signed Kepa Arrizabalaga from Athletic Bilbao for £71m just weeks later.

1

Virgil van Dijk (2018)

£75m from Southampton

Liverpool’s most expensive signing of all time has arguably been their most important addition in the last decade.

The Reds were desperate for a central defender midway through the 2017/18 season. They found themselves bottom of the ‘big six’, level on points with Burnley, having dropped 14 points in their opening nine games and conceded the most goals compared to their main rivals.

The announcement that Van Dijk would join Liverpool at the turn of the new year in 2018 was a world-record deal for a defender at the time – a fee only since surpassed by Harry Maguire’s transfer to Man United (£80m) in 2019 and Josko Gvardiol’s to Man City (£77m) in 2023.

That same season, City became the first-ever Premier League centurions, while Van Dijk helped his side into the Champions League, a trophy he would go on to lift the following season.