cash gap Analysis highlights lack of investment in Liverpool's squad with Man City spending €500m more

When manager Jurgen Klopp requested defensive reinvestments in last month's transfer window, he was only allowed to sign Ben Davies from Preston in a cut-price deal and Turkish defender Ozan Kabak on loan.

Guardiola took aim at Klopp again

Kevin Palmer

February 11 2021 05:30 PM

Liverpool's lack of transfer investment has been a huge talking point in recent weeks and now a new survey has highlighted the lack of investment from the Anfield club's owners over the last five years.

The club's American owners at the Fenway Sports Group (FSG) have only tended to back managers with big-money investments after they make high profile sales.

The exits of Luis Suarez and Philippe Coutinho to Barcelona sparked spending sprees that saw the likes of Virgil van Dijk and Alisson Becker arrive in big money deals.

Yet when manager Jurgen Klopp requested defensive reinvestments in last month's transfer window, he was only allowed to sign Ben Davies from Preston in a cut-price deal and Turkish defender Ozan Kabak on loan.

Those last gasp transfer deals highlighted the lack of money available to Klopp and while the fall-out from the pandemic has been mentioned as a reason for that shortfall, this issue has been ongoing for some time.

A survey by the CIES Football Observatory suggests Liverpool rank 14th for transfer net spend over the past five years, with Sheffield United, Fulham, Brighton, West Ham and Aston Villa comfortable outspending the Anfield club.

Yet Klopp has still managed to deliver the Champions League, UEFA Super Cup, FIFA World Club Cup and the Premier League title for Liverpool despite working a budget that is more than €500m less than their biggest rivals Manchester City.

Liverpool have also spent €457m less on transfer than Manchester United when transfer buys and sales are calculated, while FSG lack of funding has seen them spend €217m less on Liverpool transfers compared to their local rivals Everton.

"I make recommendations but I cannot spend the money. That’s not how it is," said Klopp last month. "That’s what I mean by ‘I don’t make these decisions’ – and I never did.”

"In good times everybody thinks our owners are really generous – ‘my, what big signings!' or whatever - and in bad times everyone thinks they are really tight, maybe that they are from a different country or whatever.

"They are absolutely concerned about the club and the success of the club and understand how we have it."

FSG have used Liverpool's huge revenues from their Champions League and Premier League wins to help fund the expansion of the club's Anfield home, while they have also funded the club's sparkling new AXA Training Centre in Kirkby.

Yet these figures suggest Klopp has dramatically over-performed in a financial climate that has left him facing an uphill struggle to compete with Liverpool's Premier League rivals.