Liverpool player sales 2025-26<\/p>\n
PlayerAgeBuying clubFee<\/p>\n
Luis Diaz<\/p>\n
28<\/p>\n
Bayern Munich<\/p>\n
\u00a365.6m<\/p>\n
Darwin Nunez<\/p>\n
26<\/p>\n
Al Hilal<\/p>\n
\u00a345.9m<\/p>\n
Jarell Quansah<\/p>\n
22<\/p>\n
Bayer Leverkusen<\/p>\n
\u00a330m<\/p>\n
Ben Doak<\/p>\n
19<\/p>\n
Bournemouth<\/p>\n
\u00a320m<\/p>\n
Caoimhin Kelleher<\/p>\n
26<\/p>\n
Brentford<\/p>\n
\u00a312.5m<\/p>\n
Tyler Morton<\/p>\n
22<\/p>\n
Lyon<\/p>\n
\u00a38.6m<\/p>\n
Trent Alexander-Arnold<\/p>\n
26<\/p>\n
Real Madrid<\/p>\n
\u00a38.4m<\/p>\n
Nat Phillips<\/p>\n
28<\/p>\n
West Bromwich Albion<\/p>\n
\u00a33m <\/p>\n
Harvey Elliott<\/p>\n
22<\/p>\n
Aston Villa<\/p>\n
Loan (\u00a335m in 2026)<\/p>\n
James McConnell<\/p>\n
20<\/p>\n
Ajax<\/p>\n
Loan<\/p>\n
Vitezslav Jaros<\/p>\n
24<\/p>\n
Ajax<\/p>\n
Loan<\/p>\n
Kostas Tsimikas<\/p>\n
29<\/p>\n
Roma<\/p>\n
Loan<\/p>\n
These are the secrets to Liverpool\u2019s selling strategy and what makes their record so formidable.<\/p>\n
Perhaps this purple patch for sales should have been expected.<\/p>\n
Michael Edwards. Liverpool\u2019s former sporting director, rejoined owners Fenway Sports Group (FSG) as CEO of football in March 2024 and has a striking track record in securing large fees for players.<\/p>\n
Philippe Coutinho, sold for \u00a3142m to Barcelona in 2018, is the standout example, but just as impressive in his first period at the club were the sums collected for Jordon Ibe, Brad Smith, Kevin Stewart, Danny Ward, Mamadou Sakho, Rhian Brewster, Harry Wilson and Neco Williams. Liverpool did not come to regret any of these sales, but were able to use the cash generated to build the squad that served Jurgen Klopp so well.<\/p>\n
Yet it is another Edwards recruit, Richard Hughes, who has taken centre-stage as sporting director. Hughes has brought in around \u00a3290m in the three transfer windows, maintaining the impressive selling record he had at Bournemouth.<\/p>\n
Dominic Solanke, Nathan Ake, Aaron Ramsdale, Tyrone Mings and Arnaut Danjuma were among the players Hughes acquired and then sold for handsome profits. Since his departure, Illia Zabarnyi, Dango Ouattara and Milos Kerkez \u2014 all Hughes signings \u2014 have also departed for large sums, the latter to Liverpool.<\/p>\n
Liverpool are, of course, operating in a different market to Bournemouth but there are similarities with the approach Hughes has taken at both.<\/p>\n
Doak is perhaps one of the best examples. The 19-year-old, who cost Liverpool \u00a3600,000 in 2022, had made only three Premier League appearances but Hughes and the club were aware of a market for him, having blocked approaches from Crystal Palace and Ipswich Town last season.<\/p>\n
Hughes fielded calls from multiple clubs this summer, including Nottingham Forest, who wanted to take him on loan, but a decision was made to only entertain permanent offers. Liverpool were prepared to sit tight and even use Doak as a bit-part player if their valuation wasn\u2019t met, a position that effectively (even if unintentionally) drove up the price.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
When\u00a0Bournemouth eventually reached \u00a32om rising to \u00a325m<\/a>, a figure that Liverpool were happy with, they decided to sell, although a buyback clause was added to give Liverpool a degree of control should Doak fulfil his potential.<\/p>\n Liverpool\u2019s careful management of Doak, including a successful loan to Middlesbrough last season, helped their negotiating position.<\/p>\n All Liverpool\u2019s loans are strategically placed<\/a> based on criteria including stylistic fit, the potential club\u2019s previous record with loan players, how much the loanee will play and the environment the club can offer. Delegations from Merseyside are sent to possible destination clubs to check facilities, and players are visited during the season. Edwards and FSG technical director Julian Ward both met Doak at Middlesbrough in December, for example.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat they do really well is build up their players and create value,\u201d says a representative of a senior player at the club, speaking anonymously to protect their relationships.<\/p>\n FSG\u2019s approach has always been to create a self-sustainable model and the club\u2019s executive structure is robust: Edwards reports to the FSG board, Hughes reports to Edwards, and Slot \u2014 as Liverpool\u2019s first \u2018head coach\u2019 \u2014 reports to Hughes. The pair speak multiple times a day during a transfer window to discuss incomings, sales and contract negotiations.<\/p>\n The stage at which each member of the senior leadership team gets involved in sales depends on the size and complexity of the deal. Slot\u2019s role is different to his previous clubs AZ and Feyenoord, where he knew top players would be sold if bigger clubs came calling. At Anfield, that pressure does not exist. If he wants to keep a player, there\u2019s a greater chance of that happening.<\/p>\n Arne Slot speaks regularly with Richard Hughes (Peter Byrne\/PA Images via Getty Images)<\/p>\n Ultimately, however, the health of the business is paramount \u2014 a point underlined by the sale of Diaz.<\/p>\n Slot enjoyed working with Diaz. For much of the summer, Liverpool officials were adamant the 28-year-old would not be sold. They swerved interest from Saudi Arabia, rejected bids from Barcelona and initially made it clear to Bayern through Hughes that there was no interest in selling.<\/p>\n There was a complicating factor in Diaz himself, who had expressed a desire to leave at different stages after failing to agree a new contract, but it was only when Bayern raised their offer to \u20ac75m (the third-biggest fee they had ever paid) that Liverpool felt compelled to agree.<\/p>\n When Liverpool\u2019s data team calculated that only seven other players over the age of 28 had switched clubs for a higher fee, it was felt that the decision represented good business, especially given the arrivals of Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitike, the emergence of Rio Ngumoha<\/a> and the continued tracking of Alexander Isak.<\/p>\n Bayern required little persuading in recognising Diaz\u2019s talents. Where Liverpool\u2019s record really stands out is in the selling of fringe players for fees that, when added together, help explain why they have been able to be so active with incomings this summer.<\/p>\n Last year, two backup players, Sepp van den Berg and Fabio Carvalho, were sold to Brentford in deals worth up to \u00a352.5m. Van den Berg had not played a Premier League game and Carvalho had just 13 appearances to his name.<\/p>\n Securing the right deal for Van den Berg required considerable negotiations.<\/p>\n Even the Dutch defender questioned his big price tag. \u201cIf you want to leave, then \u00a320m is quite a lot,\u201d he told The Athletic<\/a> during the pre-season tour of the United States last July. \u201cMy first reaction was that it was quite high! It is a compliment in one way.\u201d<\/p>\n Brentford were not initially willing to pay the \u00a320m (plus \u00a35m in add-ons) fee but Hughes put together a compelling argument showing how defenders of a similar profile fetched matching fees. It was another example of Liverpool shrewdly using the loan system to enhance a player\u2019s value, with Van den Berg having kicked on at Bundesliga outfit Mainz in 2023-24.<\/p>\n Sepp van den Berg was sold to Brentford last summer (Richard Pelham\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n The respect that Hughes has engendered in the industry is clear from the amount of repeated business he conducts with clubs. The good faith built up in discussions with Brentford helped facilitate the London club\u2019s move for Kelleher this summer in a deal which could be worth up to \u00a318m. Given Kelleher was entering the final year of his contract, that again represented sound business with Giorgi Mamardashvili already signed to provide backup for Alisson.<\/p>\n Bayer Leverkusen have also developed a strong relationship with Hughes, who got on well with Leverkusen CEO Simon Rolfes during negotiations over Wirtz. The pair developed a mutual understanding of how deals needed to be structured to please their respective bosses.<\/p>\n For Wirtz, the figures had to remain within the boundaries set by FSG, but Rolfes also had to show his board that, by letting a key player leave, he was securing a significant price.<\/p>\n Quansah\u2019s move was separate from the Wirtz talks but still required lengthy discussions. Again, Liverpool highlighted the valuations of other centre-halves \u2014 including Everton\u2019s Jarrad Branthwaite, who was the subject of an offer worth up to \u00a343m from Manchester United last summer \u2014 as reason to hold tight, especially as Quansah appeared to be getting closer to the England team.<\/p>\n When it came to striking an agreement, the structure of the deal was also key. The inclusion of a buyback clause helped keep the price down for Leverkusen but also helped Liverpool justify letting a senior player leave.<\/p>\n Jarell Quansah moved to Leverkusen (Ibrahim Ot\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/GettyImages-2159988005-scaled.jpg\")
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