Credit: Getty Images/Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Kristian Skeie - UEFA

Features

FeaturedFeaturesLiverpoolEnglish Premier League

Liverpool’s most expensive signings of all time, Mohamed Salah nowhere to be seen

Billy Meyers

Thu 13 February 2025 18:13, UK

Liverpool do not often splash the cash as much as their domestic rivals – such as Manchester United, Chelsea and Manchester City.

The Reds are more measured in their approach to t𝔉he transfer market, excelling when it comes to offloa𒆙ding fringe players for huge fees – such as the £26m and £15m sales of Mamadou Sakho and Jordon Ibe to Crystal Palace and Bournemouth respectively – with that money then wisely reinvested.

Crystal Palace even bid £15m for Ben Doak in January – a player Liverpool 𒉰signed fro෴m Celtic for just £600,000 – to give an example of this savviness in the market.

On the topic of recruitment, let’s take a look at the ten most expensive signings in the history of Liverpool – surprisingly, there is no room for Mohamed Salah, who was a total bargain at £34m.

Cody Gakpo

• £37m
• PSV Eindhoven to Liverpool (January 2023)

Liverpool moved quickly to sign Cody Gakpo after the Dutchman impressed for the Netherlands at the ☂2022 World Cup in Qatar.

The Red♔s handed PSV Eindhoven £37m for the versatile attacker – who has since scored 39 goals in 115 appearancꩲes for Liverpool at the time of writing.

Luis Diaz

• £37.5m
• Porto to Liverpool (January 2022)

Liverpool needed a direct, speedy forward to replace Sadio Mane down the left flank – and the Reds found exactly that in Luis Diaz.

Liverpool v Leverkusen = The Luis Diaz Show ✨

All three g꧙oals from the Colombian in their 4-0 v𝓡ictory… ⚽️⚽️⚽️

— Amazon Prime Video Sport (@primevideosport)

A £37.5m addition from Porto back in January 2022, the Colombia international has 36 goals in 132 appearances for Liverpool 🧔so far.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain

• £40m
• Arsenal to Liverpool (August 2017)

Liverpool moved to sign Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in a £40m switch from Arsenal back in August 2017, after the Engla☂nd international turned down the chance to join Chelsea.

🗣 Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain: "I used to watch Stevie Gerrard smash them in, in front of the Kop, and imagine the feeling thඣat would give me. Goals like that give me a buzz like nothing else." | |

— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague)

The Southampton academy graduate did well for the Reds, memorably scoring twice at Anfield against Manchester City in that 4-3 Premier League win a🐭nd the 3-0 UEFA Champions League victory.

Diogo Jota

• £41m
• Wolves to Liverpool (September 2020)

Diogo Jota was another savvy signing by Liverpool.

Diogo Jota bags Liverpool's first Pꦛremier League goal under Arne Slot 🤩

— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt)

After consistently impressing for Wolves, Liverpool paid £41m to sign the Portugal international i♑n September 2020, and he has si𒉰nce netted 64 goals in 167 appearances for the Reds.

Fabinho

• £43.7m
• Monaco to Liverpool (May 2018)

Jurgen Klopp moved to bring Fabinho to Merseyside straight after losing the 2018 UEFA Champions League final to Real Madrid – with the Brazili🔯an injecting a bit of steel into Liverpool’🐻s midfield.

The £43.7m man ended🌟 up playing a key role as Liverpool won the 2019 UEFA Champions League with a 2-0 victory over Tottenham in Madrid.

Naby Keita

• £52.75m
• RB Leipzig to Liverpool (August 2017)

Liverpool were so keen to sign Naby Keita ahead of Barcelona and others, that they agreed to pay a small premium on the Guinean’s £48m release clause and loan him back to RB Leipzig for the 2017/18 sea🎉son.

Unfortunately, the midfie♕lder strꦯuggled with injuries during his time at Anfield, and left for free in June 2023.

Dominik Szoboszlai

• £60m
• RB Leipzig to Liverpool (July 2023)

The arrival of Dominik Szoboszlai signall꧑ed a new era under Klopp – who practically changed his entire midfield in the summer of 2023, moving on from the likes of Jordan Henderson, Keita and James Milner.

Liverpool spen𒀰t £60m to lure the Hungary international to Merseyside, where he has scored 12 goals and provided nine assists in 77 appearances so far.

Darwin Nunez

• £64m
• Benfica to Liverpool (June 2022)

With Mane and Roberto Firmino failing to match the longevity of Salah, Darwin Nunez signalled the next significant change to the attack, six month♍s after Diaz arrived✤.

Liverpool showed a lot of faith in the Uruguay international, splashing £64m to sign him from Benfica, although the South American remains ve🎐ry much a work in progress with ꧋39 goals in 129 games for the Reds.

Alisson Becker

• £66.8m
• Roma to Liverpool (July 2018)

Alisson Becker turned Li💎verpool from a ౠdecent side into a formidable outfit.

The likes of Simon Mignolet and Loris Karius often let Klopp down in his early dᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚays at Liverpool, so it was no surprise to see a then world record fee for a go𒀰alkeeper spent to lure the Brazilian glovesman to Anfield.

Football eh. 𝐁𝐞𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐮𝐥.

Experience 5 minutes 33 sec𝓰onds of unbridled joy with every angle of 's goal…

— Liverpool FC (@LFC)

At the tim𒀰e of writing, Alisson boasts a remarkable 123 clean sheets in 284 appearances f💙or Liverpool – even scoring one goal.

Virgil van Dijk

• £75m
• Southampton to Liverpool (January 2018)

Like Alisson, Virgil van Dijk was also a transformative signing for Li♉verpool, helping Klopp rely less on the inconsistent Dejan Lovren.

The Dutchman even won the UEFA Player of the Year award ahead of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in August 2019 – with many of the opinion nowadays that the Liverpool No.4 is the best defender th💦e Premier Le﷽ague has ever seen.

For one, Michael Dawson feels Van Dijk is the greatest ever in his position.