£64m Man Utd deal puts Liverpool’s successes into perspective after incredible figures revealed

Jurgen Klopp’s successes at Liverpool have been elevated thanks to Manchester United’s agreed £64m deal with Atalanta for Rasmus Højlund.

The deal, which could rise up to £72m due to add-ons, will mean that manager Erik Ten Hag will have surpassed Klopp’s net spend in just one year in charge of the club.

It’s an incredible statistic as Klopp has been in charge at Liverpool for over seven years now and he is currently the longest-serving manager in the Premier League and it tells us two things: one, that United have and continue to spend great sums of money and, two, that Klopp has operated with extremely limited funds compared to his rivals.

Looking at the bare facts, Ten Hag will have a higher net spend at United (£340m) in just a single year than Klopp at Liverpool (£322m) since he took over in 2015. During that time, Klopp has won seven trophies and established the club as a leading side in England and Europe whereas United, during the same time, have won three.

And while Ten Hag’s first season was a success given their EFL Cup victory and Champions League qualification, there has been serious money spent.

Liverpool’s owners have been famously stiff when it has come to transfer budget allocation. The club has very much operated in a sell-to-buy manner during their time at the club.

As a result, Klopp has had to utilise his squad and resources far more than any other manager in the top six across his time at the club, given he has had to work with many of the same players since 2017, having to find solutions rather than having the easier option of just splashing the cash to fill a hole like their rivals have.

His net spend since joining the club sits at -£264,250,000 - which is less than their top six rivals. In fact, across the last five years, Liverpool rank seventh in the league for their net spend of £-207.3m with United (£-562.56m) and Arsenal (£-595.43m).

Liverpool spent over £100m on the likes of Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister this summer but they have also allowed six players to leave this summer, recouping around £14m so far and getting multiple big wages off the books whilst also expecting to receive £40m for Fabinho in what is a considerable return.

However, there could still be another addition in midfield with the club targeting Romeo Lavia in a £45m deal that would shift the numbers back above Ten Hag.

Despite that, the numbers are there to show that Liverpool have had to contend with far greater restrictions than many of their rivals across the years and it highlights the fact that United, despite their protests, receive clear backing from their owners, despite what you hear from the fans who greatly oppose the Glazers current ownership.