In a summer which saw Premier League clubs spend unprecedented sums, it was Liverpool who led the way with British-record-breaking deals.
In total, Liverpool spent £446m – the most ever spent by a Premier League club in a single window, eclipsing the £434.5m spent by Chelsea in the summer of 2023.
Already top of the Premier League again, the champions completed the three biggest transfers of the summer – Alexander Isak for a record £125m, Florian Wirtz for £116.5m and Hugo Ekitike for £79m.
In fact, the landmark fee for Isak was more than 10 Premier League clubs spent in the entire window.
But how, in the era of PSR, did the champions finance such a huge transfer spend?
What were the figures for incomings and outgoings at Liverpool?
The Wirtz package in June was enormous in its own right. A £100m outlay to Bayer Leverkusen with the potential for an extra £16m, which would surpass the previous highest fee paid by an English club, when Chelsea bought Moises Caicedo for £115m in 2023.
But that was blown out of the water on Deadline Day, with the stunning £125m agreement with Newcastle for Isak.
It could have been an even bigger day, but Marc Guehi’s £35m switch from Crystal Palace dramatically collapsed.
But add in the £40m for Milos Kerkez, £29.5m for Jeremie Frimpong, and £29m that has now gone through for Giorgi Mamardashvili and it has been a relentless summer of spending by the Reds.
How Liverpool navigated PSR to spend so heavily
Rivals will have looked on enviously – not least those who have had their spending restricted by Profit and Sustainability Rules.
The answer to how Liverpool have been able to spend such huge sums and stay within the rules is complex and detailed – but can also be simplified.
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Vinny O’Conner announces that Marc Guehi’s move to Liverpool has fallen through which could have been scuppered by West Ham’s hijack of Crystal Palace’s replacement target, Igor Julio.
PSR limits clubs to outlays relative to their revenues. And Liverpool have big revenues.
They turned over £614m in their last set of accounts. By contrast, Newcastle turned over £320m.
There have been big sponsorship deals, such as the new link-up with adidas, which is reported to be worth as much as £60m per year over the next decade. Anfield has been expanded to increase matchday income and hospitality takings. There has also been a flood of prize money for achievements in the Premier League, Champions League and the cups in recent years.
Liverpool have managed their transfer spending across recent windows, too.
Even including this bumper 2025 splurge, Liverpool only rank seventh among Premier League clubs for net spend since 2016/17. That means when sales are factored in, Liverpool have spent less than the likes of Tottenham and West Ham.
Think also of how sharply this summer contrasts with last year, when £12.5m Federico Chiesa was the only player signed to immediately go into Arne Slot’s first team.
The hierarchy have also succeeded in that trickiest of fields – generating significant income from player sales.
This summer, Luis Diaz was sold for £65m and Darwin Nunez for £56.6m. They are headline fees but there was also substantial returns for fringe players Jarrell Quansah (£35m), Ben Gannon Doak (£25m), Caoimhin Kelleher (£18m) and Tyler Morton (£15m).
Arsenal (£257m) have had a bigger net spend this summer than Liverpool (£218.4m)
Liverpool have spent more than any club ever has in a transfer window. But when you deduct the money generated from sales, their net spend ranks fourth among Premier League clubs since 2016.
A chance to dominate for years to come?
Having the capacity to spend big is one thing – but what has driven Liverpool to splash the cash now from a position of relative strength?
“My suspicion is two things,” the club’s former managing director Christian Purslow told Sky Sports News.
“They’re looking at the competitive position for the first time in many years and they see a genuine opportunity to really dominate British and European football in a way that perhaps hasn’t been true over the last few years.
“The second element is the financial rules. These are heaven-made for a club like Liverpool.
“They have the most superb sponsorship revenue in football – there are household brands around the edge of the pitch every week, massive levels of commercial turnover.
“They redeveloped Anfield very successfully, it’s packed every week, so their revenues are high and the rules favour clubs like that.
“I think they’re sensing the financial rules may be changing. We’re starting to hear for the first time fans question if the rules are right, and it’s stopping big clubs from spending money, like Newcastle and Aston Villa.
“My sense is Liverpool are making hay while the sun shines, loading up on talent to put themselves in a position where they’re virtually impregnable.
“It’s brilliant strategic management, terrifying from a football point of view because adding Isak to that team makes them nailed-on favourites and other clubs should be fearful and respectful of how they’re running their club.”
Liverpool’s financial management has allowed them to go all out in the transfer market – but now the window is closed, it’s time for those acquired players to deliver on the pitch.
