Liverpool are ‘kings of the transfer market’ while Arsenal are net spend nightmare
Liverpool fans are out in some considerable force defending their club from ‘buying the title’ accusations.
There’s a lot on net spend in here but keep reading because we have thoughts of Crystal Palace fans and others.
Send your views on any subject – not just Liverpool – to theeditor@football365.com
Reasons to be giddy after that transfer window
Wow, what a transfer window and what a season we have ahead of us! Things I am most excited about:
1) Liverpool’s new attack. The benefits of keeping a settled squad are clear (hello last season), but in terms of start of the season excitement, spending 400 million in one window really does turn things up to 11.
2) Man U and Amorim. Cunha and Mbeumo are quality but their squad is imbalanced, central midfield is a glaring weakness and Amorim looks defeated. There’s definitely a chance he can turn it around but there’s probably a bigger chance he can’t.
3) Man City’s rebuild and Pep’s head. They have quietly spent a lot of money over the last two windows as Pep rebuilds. They haven’t started well, the squad isn’t currently at the level of the squad of a few season’s back and I’m not convinced it has the ceiling to get there. I’m also unconvinced Pep still has the appetite for it or the capacity to innovate effectively.
4) Tottenham’s additions, Tottenham’s new manager. I think they could be a force this year. There, I’ve said it. Kudus, Palhinha, Simons and Kolo Muani really add to the squad and Frank is a fantastic manager. Top 6 certainly and would love to see them sneak top 4 at the expense of one of the below.
5) Chelsea and Arsenal. Both have spent heavily over the last few seasons and need to show progress this year. I dislike Chelsea’s business model to the extent that I really want it to fail and whilst I respect the fact that Arsenal are spending money they have earnt, Arteta really has been backed and needs to deliver.
6) Strikers. Isak for Wissa and Woltemade. Wissa will score goals and they needed depth up front, so two ticks there but how the unproven Woltemade does will determine how Newcastle’s striker business is viewed. Sesko and Gyökeres are likewise unproven but are expected to lead the line at two big clubs. Can those three step up?
So much intrigue in the season ahead, bring it on!
Willy Lambshank (good luck, Harvey Elliott)
Liverpool buying the league? Behave…
I haven’t got the stats in front of me, but when was the last time a football club won the league without having any players who weren’t bought, or has never bought a player/facilities in some way?
Yes, Liverpool have spent money this summer, but everybody has. Whoever wins the league this season will have bought the league. Same as last year, year before etc…
Give it a bloody rest… if you support a football team, pretty much no matter what badge, players (and facilities) have been bought to improve them with the goal of increasing the chance of winning matches and ultimately trophies.
In every other business, it’s called investing.
Rob, Hove
…So, Newcastle blinked (of course they did the silly sausages). After weeks of huffing and puffing, posturing about “acting like a big club” and holding firm at some fantasy valuation, they finally caved on deadline day. Alexander Isak, Liverpool’s top target all summer, signed for a British record £125m.
Let’s not forget – Liverpool had £120m on the table ages ago. Newcastle wasted half their own window chasing a few extra coins down the back of the sofa, upset their own striker in the process, and then sold him anyway. All that noise, and the inevitable happened. If anyone got “boxed in,” it was them.
And now, right on cue, the chorus of idiots emerges. “Liverpool are hypocrites!” “Liverpool are bloated!” “Buying the league!” Honestly, it’s embarrassing how predictable and lazy some of these contributions are. These are the same people who spent years moaning about our so-called “net spend trophy” — and now that we’ve finally flexed our financial muscles after 15 years of discipline, they still can’t cope. The jealousy drips off the screen.
Here’s the reality they don’t want to face: Liverpool just had the biggest transfer window in Premier League history — £446m spent — and every penny of it was earned. Not handed over by a sugar daddy. Not laundered through dodgy sponsorships. Not hidden in 8-year contract loopholes. Earned. Through Champions League nights, league titles, commercial growth, expanding Anfield, building Kirkby, selling cleverly, and being the best-run club in the league. Full stop.
Look at what we’ve actually done. We lost Jota tragically. We sold Díaz (£65m), Núñez (£46m), Quansah (£30m), Doak (£25m), Morton (£15m), Elliott on loan with a £35m obligation. Trent went to Madrid, Kelleher to Brentford, Phillips to West Brom. That’s a serious churn of players. And we replaced them with Isak, Ekitiké, Wirtz, Frimpong, Kerkez, Mamardashvili, Leoni, plus prospects like Peçsi and Wright. That’s not bloated — that’s balanced squad building, with an eye on both now and the future.
Wirtz in particular shows how clueless the “luxury” brigade are. He’s not some shiny toy, he’s the best player in Germany, only wanted Liverpool, and was a once-in-a-generation market opportunity. Any club with ambition takes that deal in a heartbeat. Madrid did it with Zidane, Bayern with Kane. Liverpool saw the chance and took it. That’s what proper clubs do. The Mailbox geniuses crying “luxury signing” should stick to Football Manager.
And don’t give me “buying the league.” If money alone guaranteed success, United would have a dynasty by now instead of a decade of mediocrity. Chelsea would be parading trebles instead of eighth-place finishes. Arsenal wouldn’t still be bottling titles while parading “process” banners like it’s a consolation prize. City are the only club who can pretend money = trophies, and even then they’ve got 115 charges hanging over their heads. Liverpool win because we spend wisely. Our “misses” are rare, our hits define eras. Compare that to Antony, Sancho, Maguire, Lukaku, Caicedo, Mudryk… the graveyard of stupidity elsewhere is endless.
And let’s talk selling, because it’s the bit the haters never mention. Liverpool are kings of the transfer market. Quansah £30m, Doak £25m, Ibe £19m, Brewster £23m. Not a single one we’ve sold has ever come back to haunt us. Not once. Meanwhile, United practically gift-wrap players who improve the minute they leave Old Trafford. Chelsea can’t shift their deadwood without writing off half the value. Arsenal don’t even bother selling, they just let players rot until their contracts expire. Liverpool sell brilliantly, buy cleverly, and build sustainably. That’s why we can spend £446m now without breaking a sweat.
And yet… the Mailbox is full of self-appointed accountants and comedians trying to tell us we’re suddenly hypocrites. Spare me. We’ve gone from being mocked as “net spend FC” to being accused of “buying it” in the space of one window. You can’t have it both ways, lads. Pick a lane. The truth is you’re just bitter that Liverpool have played the long game better than your clubs ever will.
So yes, it does feel good to spend. Because we earned it. Because we did it properly. Because we didn’t have to cheat, or cook the books, or sell our soul. Liverpool are champions, Liverpool are record breakers, and Liverpool are set up to dominate again. And if rival fans want to keep crying into their spreadsheets, let them. We’ll keep collecting actual trophies while they collect excuses.
LJ DUB – LFC stranded in Salford
…Now that the transfer window is closed we can all take a breath and look forward to seeing how all the clubs new shiny toys perform and see whether or not they become new fan faves or Antony type flops.
As a Liverpool fan I’m very excited to see how all the new players gel and whether they can reach the heights that we all hope they can. So far Ekitike looks to be a great addition, while Wirtz looks like he’ll need a bit more time to get used to the pace and physicality of the league (he looked a lot better in the 2nd half of the game against Arsenal) but ultimately I reckon he’ll be a star once he finds his rhythm.
Kerkez looked a lot better against Arsenal than he did in the first two games and Frimpong unfortunately got a knock in the first game so we haven’t really been able to see what he can bring as yet. The big one is Isak and once he gets to match fitness and is firing on all cylinders he’s going to rip the league up once again. Exciting times as a Liverpool fan.
I was looking forward to this mornings mailbox and was wondering how many mails would be published regarding Liverpool “buying the league” and to be fair it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be, although Chris NUFC’s mail did make me want to do some net spend “Scouse maths” as he put it because a lot of people are asking how we can spend so much money this summer and being able to recoup money on selling players plays a significant role in it.
So I calculated every teams net spend from this summer which I think some readers may find interesting and there were some surprising results.
Team. Money out. Money in. Net spend
Arsenal. £267m. £8.3m. – £258.7m
Aston Villa. £28m. £46.5m. + £18.5m
Bournemouth. £125m. £158m. + £33m
Brentford. £93m. £97m. + £4m
Brighton. £69m. £109.5m. + £40.5m
Burnley. £54.7m. £31m. – £23.7m
Chelsea. £302.5m. £300m. – £2.5m
C. Palace. £46.5m. £67m. + £20.5m
Everton. £124m. £10m. – £114m
Fulham. £35m. £9m. – £26m
Leeds. £103m. £0. – £103m
Liverpool. £416.5m. £228m. – £188.5m
Man City. £185.8m. £55m. – £130.8m
Man United. £233m. £61.7m. – £171.3m
Newcastle. £256.3m. £167m. – £89.3m
N. Forest. £182.5m. £61.5m. – £121m
Sunderland. £159.6m. £42m. – £117.6m
T. Hotspur. £172m. £38m. – £134m
West Ham. £131.3m. £55m. – £76.3m
Wolves. £69.7m. £126.5m. + £56.8m
(I’m not expecting these figures to be bang on but they’re close, maybe 1 or 2 million off here and there)
The first thing I noticed is that Arsenal are by far this summer’s biggest spenders. Laying out £267m while only getting £8.3m in player sales. In his time as manager Arteta has spent over £1 billion on players while only recouping just over £200 million in player sales. So a net spend of over £800 million for an FA Cup which he won with Emery’s team. No other manager would be afforded this.
The other interesting thing I noticed is that Chelsea made £300 million in player sales this summer, the revolving door at Chelsea is creating its own orbit (don’t think that analogy makes sense and I couldn’t be arsed thinking of another one).
Anyway, I just wanted to do a bit of Scouse maths because as we all know Net Spend is real and is a factor when it comes to PSR, transfers and how much a club spends. Liverpool haven’t bought the league they’ve invested wisely after a few years of hardly buying anybody and then receiving a good chunk of change for players leaving, this summer alone Liverpool received roughly the same amount of money on players sales as Arsenal have since 2020.
Here’s to a brilliantly exciting season of football.
MickT Liverpool
An awful lot of words to say ‘This Means More’
Fans of other English clubs don’t seem to recognise how well run Liverpool are, how big the club is, and how much money they make – legitimately too. Foreign supporters seem to recognise Liverpool’s heritage, and status as a club.
Supporters of clubs like Spurs, Newcastle, Villa and the like, seem to think they have the same pulling power, and don’t understand when Liverpool beat them to a signing, or when one of their players want to join them.
I’m not trying to disrespect those historic great clubs but the reality is Liverpool is on a par with Bayern, Man United, Barcelona, and possibly only out ranked by Real Madrid.
I’m not sure if rivals equate Liverpool Football Club with the city of Liverpool, a relatively poor city compared to others, and can’t understand how big, rich and successful the club is.
You also have the simple bigotry of anti-scouse sentiment displayed by the simpler supporters of rivals. (Which filters down to refs and officials). It’s ok to hate scousers – Gary Neville proclaimed it on TV, so it must be ok.
But we’re used to it now, it’s water off a duck’s back. It makes it easier though, when we can show them our trophies or the 1.5 million who turned out for the victory parade.
People think scousers are sensitive, or touchy about things but they respond or react to abuse or untruths online because they are stubborn and won’t let things lie. We defend our club, especially as the club have done everything by the book.
It only makes our victories all the more sweeter.
People are still quoting Liverpool’s net spend this summer as £300m, when it’s far less than £100m when you consider they will have received an insurance payment for the tragic loss of Jota. Who cares though? No one cared how much City spent after their takeover, or Chelsea continue to spend or where that money came from.
The reality is FSG (who I have been critical of in the past) have restored Liverpool to the pinnacle of English and European football.
The simple fact is English rival supporters cannot accept that fact, but it’s happened. Get used to it. Klopp leaving hasn’t resulted in the downfall which rival supporters were praying it would do.
Hating Liverpool and scousers is a pointless exercise. No one expects sportsmanship or anyone to acknowledge sporting success anymore. People can’t hold their hands up these days and say “congratulations the best team won”. Not when managers like Arteta can’t even manage it.
I watched a video of Lodz knocking Liverpool out of the European Cup at Anfield in 1973 and the whole Kop applauded them.
Liverpool applauded Arsenal in 1989 on one of the worst nights of my life when they won the league.
Gone are the days when teams fought to win, and sportingly accepted defeat.
Liverpool have done everything by the book, are back challenging for major honours, with great players who all seem to be decent people but the haters still hate.
We live in a childish, petty, hateful society.
It is after all “only a game”.
All the best,
Mick
Guehi was not ‘screwed’ and neither was Isak
Maybe I’m missing something here with all this chat about whether Isak, Trent or Guehi but the point that people seem to miss is simply this:
They signed a contract agreeing to play football for a certain club for a set amount of time for a certain wage.
It is no more complicated than that surely.
The reason most people think Trent was badly treated by the ‘fans’ is because all he did was comply with his agreed contract while winning trophies for Liverpool. He did what he said he was going to do, and after that he went to play for another team, as is his right to do so.
Is that not him having workers rights?
Someone mentions what would happen if Guehi broke his leg ‘would Palace offer him a new contract?’. Well what if he signed a 6 year deal, did his ACL and never played a game again, then Palace are stuck with the bill. It works both ways.
The reason everyone has condemned Isak, and only Isak in my mind as I don’t think Liverpool or Newcastle did anything particularly wrong, is because 3 years ago he signed a 6 year deal to commit to the club. Then he promptly refused to honour his contract. Ok there are well established mechanisms for this, hand in a transfer request, tell the club you want to leave but if they don’t sell you then tough. Shouldn’t have agreed to the contract. But I guess handing in the transfer request means you lose out on some more ‘loyalty’ money in your contract.
And Guehi wasn’t ‘screwed’ by Palace. Some people have such a ridiculous view of the world. Palace said they would sell him if they found suitable cover. They are a Prem team and want to do well in their competitions. They have as much right to expect their players to fulfill their contract as Liverpool or Chelsea do.
Guehi signed an agreement to play for the club. Palace couldn’t get the deal done to cover him so they need him to fulfil his contractual obligations for one more year when he will be free to move wherever he wants. He’s out of contract in summer so will probably still get a move in January anyway so Palace get some money for him. I think Guehi has done all the right stuff, it hasn’t worked out this summer but he’s not going to suffer for it and will leave knowing he was fair and honest. Fair play to him, I have a lot of time for that.
Screwed is my employer repeatedly telling me I can’t have my weekends or bank holidays (which I am due) off work with my family because they’ve failed to prepare properly but I can’t do anything about it. Screwed is CEO’s telling employees they have to take pay cuts, or lose their canteen and lunch or other benefits or even their jobs and ability to put food on the table because the company can’t afford it while they drive around in supercars and pay shareholders millions for doing nothing. Screwed is people being told their pensions have gone and they can’t retire anymore while the person responsible sits on a superyacht in Monaco.
Screwed is not a multi millionaire being asked to fulfil their contractual agreements they agreed to for sums of money that would set them up for life many times over for a few more months to help the club that allowed them to shine on the world stage to compete.
All of these players agreed to their contracts of their own volition. All of these players are paid incredibly well to do so. Everything in football and life in general is a bit of gamble, sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn’t. The least they could do is understand that and realise they are not in a difficult position in the real world and maybe just show some moral fibre and dignity rather than having tantrums on social media.
‘Going on strike’ because he wasn’t allowed to move clubs. That’s selfish and entitled behavior and most normal people condemn it because it is so far removed from the real world struggles most people are facing these days.
He’s not going on strike because his breadline wages are being cut and he struggles to keep the heating on, he’s not going on strike because his company is skimping on safety and putting his life at risk. He is going on strike so he can go and kick a ball for another team and get paid even more ludicrous wages for living a luxurious lifestyle.
Some fans, and based on the last few months of mailboxes have become so entitled and so myopic it’s quite something to see. Demanding other clubs sell their best players for their benefit. People saying things like ‘Nice guys finish last’ and ‘they need to be selfish’, I really pity your view on the world. It makes it just that much worse for everyone else who wants to do the right thing and put others first but then get kicked in the face by people like you as they stitch them up for their own benefit. You’re the problem.
I haven’t even bothered to go into the fact that society on the whole has become so selfish and that everyone seems to go about their lives thinking only about themselves and how they can benefit from something. It’s just indicative of our current social problems.
Anyway, I got a bit carried away there so apologies for the length! Keep up the good work and I genuinely hope all fans enjoy their club’s seasons no matter what happens. Dont forget it’s just a game and doesn’t last forever.
Rob, MUFC
READ: Four massive reasons it’s hard to have sympathy for ‘extremely unhappy’ Marc Guehi
…Really entertaining reading the online hysterics and posturing about how a football player should just act in their own self-interest, unless they are going to Real Madrid of course. Maybe we’ll save that one for the next step in Isak’s career.
Anyway, just a few things to mention…
* Liverpool could have made an offer for Marc Guehi earlier than a few days before the window closed, while not extracting maximum value during a frugal summer it would allow the required time for suitable dominos to fall and for you to land your 427th priority target.
* Liverpool providing a free scouting report to Palace’s Conference League play-off opponents was probably not the best way to strengthen a relationship with a club you wanted to do business with.
* Marc Guehi means more to Palace fans than whatever figure we’d read about the club getting for him. A South London bloke that has given us consistent representation in the England team and lifted the FA Cup is something many of us could only have dreamt of. We’re not in the stands hugging each other about the extra millions we could have got had he moved earlier. The fact that he is also so incredibly humble and the soundest fella who doesn’t act purely in his own self interest is a testament not only to him, but also to our recruitment team. See also, Eberechi Eze. No need to be clutching pearls on his behalf.
Also, describing a manager wanting to keep his captain unless he has a suitable replacement as ‘having a paddy’ and the club as having ‘screwed his career’ is a pretty embarrassing display of entitlement from the player power advocates in the mailbox. I know it’s difficult if you’re not able to go to the game and you can get lost in all the online circus and discourse as to why your club is better at paperwork, or negotiations, or generating revenue, net spend or whatever, but you don’t have to show your support in such contrived ways.
Final point from me…. We won the FA Cup.
Tony, CPFC
(I did enjoy the ‘Nice guys finish 12th’ title.)
…It’s been interesting to see the discussion about Marc Guehi recently. My favourite part has been learning that a player who wants to leave a club where they have won trophies and become an England regular has their career ruined by having to stay there, instead of stepping up to a much bigger club. Penny for the thoughts of Trent Alexander-Arnold right now.
I don’t think anyone comes out of this saga particularly well. Certainly not the Liverpool fans in the mailbox and their one-eyed interpretation of the situation. Definitely not the F365 staffer who produced a graphic suggesting Guehi was being signed as a backup to Ibrahima Konate and Virgil van Dijk. It’s really baffling that someone employed by a website this great and popular would pay so little attention to Liverpool – they’re the reigning and defending champions for goodness’ sake.
For their own part, Liverpool’s biggest offence in this sorry saga was spending all summer dithering and waiting until the very last moment to actually meet Crystal Palace’s valuation. In a summer where they ended up breaking the British transfer record twice, it’s hardly surprising that Steve Parish didn’t take kindly to their refusal to spend big on Guehi.
For what it’s worth, Guehi deserves the chance to show what he can do at a club like Liverpool. I have a lot of sympathy for him that he didn’t get his move. However, he is 25, and only just 25 at that, so talk that his career has been ruined, or killed, is completely over the top. He is going to be in the spotlight for the rest of the season, and will certainly get a move to a bigger club than Palace if he keeps up the values that have got him this far: things like “professionalism” and “being good at football”.
There is a lot of suggestion that it was an ultimatum from Oliver Glasner that led to the move being blocked. There have been hints that he sees the team’s success as coming despite the board instead of with their support, and his frustration at the lack of transfer activity this summer has been very evident. However, Palace need a player the calibre of Guehi right now more than they need the £35m they would get for selling him. As they couldn’t get a suitable replacement for him, it is perfectly understandable that they didn’t let one of their most important players join another club.
There are fences to mend between club, manager and captain. The international break gives people time apart until the dust settles, and when club football resumes, all parties will have the chance at reconciliation. The best outcome for everyone from now is that Guehi gets a move in the summer to a bigger club, earned through playing at his usual high standard and with his manager’s blessing; Glasner and the board spend the first part of the autumn agreeing on targets for January and the summer, who the club then bring in ready for a full preseason.
It’s never dull at Crystal Palace, and unlike some clubs, we don’t have to manufacture our dramas.
Ed Quoththeraven
READ: Four massive reasons it’s hard to have sympathy for ‘extremely unhappy’ Marc Guehi
Football is a sport filled with hypocrites
Isak, despite having a contract with Newcastle, wants to part ways with the club because they no longer match his ambition. We say it’s bad behavior.
United, despite having a contract with Antony, wants to part ways with the player because he no longer fits their plans. We say the club is ambitious.
Bale insists on honoring his contract despite being unwanted by Madrid. We say he’s lost his love for the game and only wants money.
Brentford insists on Wissa honoring his contract despite him wanting to leave. We say they’re standing their ground against player power.
It’s OK for PSG to push Donnaruma away. It’s not OK when Isak pushes Newcastle away.
Hypocrisy on steroids.
Tunji, Lagos
…As it’s an international break and there will be nothing new to talk about for a few days, let’s go back to the transfer window!
Isak and Wissa refuse to train and are vilified from all quarters, Man Utd refuse to allow 5 players to train with the first team squad, players under contract, NOTHING!
Chelsea tell Nicholas Jackson he’s not required, we’ve accepted an offer from Bayern Munich, go and sort terms out and get on a plane. Then Delap gets injured, sorry Nicholas, get back here, we need you to sit on the bench for a manager who didn’t want you.
Maybe he’d negotiated an increase in wages from Bayern, unlikely but possible, if so, have Chelsea given him a similar increase to reward his “loyalty”? Now there is a player who should refuse to train.
Players are commodities, they know this and their agents certainly do, clubs show no loyalty to them or even consideration to a player’s wishes, so why should a player act differently? How many of this summer’s signings will be sold next year after failing to live up to expectations. Usually if a manager fails, his contract is terminated and paid in full or at least honoured until he returns to work, players are effectively told “we don’t want to honour your contract but we have kindly arranged for you to be able to speak to another club, admittedly not of your choosing, to help you stay in work”. Bogarde had the right idea, “stuff you, I’ll stay here, draw my wage and you’ll have to spend a load to replace me and another load on wages whilst getting nothing for me”.
The only example of a club acting honourably (and I’m sure others will give examples) is Liverpool with Diaz, they were not willing to agree to a contract extension wanted by the player but were happy to let him negotiate his own deal elsewhere and then seek their own agreement with that club, they may have been reluctant a year earlier but he hadn’t discussed an extension at that point so circumstances were different.
Unfortunately, us fan’s can’t accept this and 99% hold the leaving player responsible, well if he’s any good we do. If he isn’t. we’re quick to shout “get him out, he’s crap, sell him”, even if the player has been with the club for years (cough, Rashford, cough).
We fans want our cake and to eat it, the clubs want the whole buffet!
Howard (it was his Dad pushing for a move last year} Jones