Liverpool owners, Fenway Sports Group, are prepared to sell the club after 12 years at the helm of Anfield.
John W. Henry’s investment group have spent heavily over their time in charge on Merseyside, having splashed out £300million to initially purchase the Premier League club in 2010. The Reds, who have won numerous trophies during their tenure - most notably the 2019 Champions League and 2019-20 Premier League - are now valued by Forbes at £3.6bn following developments in the club's infrastructure, on-field success and growth of major commercial deals.
Mirror Football understands the asking price for any interested parties willing to take complete charge at Anfield is £4bn, with FSG having hired blue-chip investment companies Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley to conduct any potential sale.
"I always know the owners act in best interests of the club and always have done," declared Pep Lijnders, Jurgen Klopp's No.2, on Tuesday, 24 hours after news that FSG are ready to exit emerged. "They also tied down our top players. And we have a stable Academy. They have invested in it, and they have invested in this training ground, one of the best in world football. It wasn't easy to leave Melwood.
"Then there's the Main Stand and the new stand. If they weren't good owners we wouldn't be sat here. We have won a lot of cups and a lot of international prizes."
Yet, amid doubts over their ownership, questions surround the club's future. Nonetheless, instead of looking forwards, Mirror Football has taken a trip back in time to every transfer window under the FSG ownership, taking a look at who arrived, who were allowed to leave and how things duly worked out.
It's been quite a ride...
January 2011
In: Andy Carroll, Luis Suarez
Out: Ryan Babel, Fernando Torres
“I am proud and humbled,” said FSG chief Henry after the takeover was completed. “I can’t tell you how happy I am. We’re here to win.”
And it was certainly an explosive start to life at Liverpool for FSG after they were forced to sell striker Fernando Torres to Chelsea in a then-English football record £50m transfer.
Without their star forward, the Reds dipped back into the market for two new strikers in the form of Suarez and Carroll. The controversial Uruguayan sparkled during his three-and-a-half years on Merseyside, but the same cannot quite be said of Carroll, who, having cost £35m from Newcastle, struggled for form and fitness.
The Reds could only stumble to a sixth-place finish when the season eventually finished.
Summer 2011
In: Jordan Henderson, Stewart Downing, Jose Enrique, Charlie Adam, Sebastian Coates, Craig Bellamy, Alexander Doni
Out: Raul Meireles, Paul Konchesky, Emiliano Insua, David N'Gog, Chris Mavinga, Tom Ince, Daniel Ayala, Christian Poulsen, Milan Jovanovic, Sotirios Kyrgiakos, Philipp Degen, Nabil El Zhar
Following their disappointing 2010-11 season, the Reds invested heavily the following summer but it did not earn the hoped for rewards. It could be argued that only Jordan Henderson of that summer’s incoming crop was a success, refusing to leave for Fulham when Brendan Rodgers was prepared to allow him to and going on to become the club captain who lifted the side's sixth European crown; he remains at Anfield still.
Despite that, the Reds’ results were promising after their summer splurge, losing just three matches in the first-half of the season.
Who do you think has been the best and worst signing of the FSG era at Liverpool? Share your thoughts in the comments below
January 2012
In: Jordon Ibe, Joao Carlos Teixeira
Out: N/A
Whilst Kenny Dalglish’s men enjoyed a promising start to the campaign, the same cannot quite be said after the January window. A couple of young arrivals were picked up and did little to inspire the senior members of the side to really kick on.
They eventually slumped to 11 league defeats, ending the season in eighth position. They had more joy in cup competitions however, reaching both domestic cup finals, losing in the FA Cup final having enjoyed League Cup success against Cardiff City.
Summer 2012
In: Fabio Borini, Joe Allen, Nuri Sahin (loan), Oussama Assaidi, Samed Yesil
Out: Charlie Adam, Craig Bellamy, Alberto Aquilani, Maxi Rodriguez, Dirk Kuyt, Fabio Aurelio, Stephen Darby, David Amoo, Nathan Eccleston
Following their underwhelming season under club legend Dalglish, FSG elected to make a managerial change with Brendan Rodgers taking over after impressive work at Swansea City.
The Northern Irishman dipped into the market on a few occasions but none of his first few signings really worked out, whilst the Reds spent the first few weeks of the season in the relegation zone.
Liverpool’s underwhelming business was probably summed up by Nuri Sahin whose season-long loan was cancelled midway through the campaign, the Turkey international having grown very frustrated at being, he believed, consistently played out of position.
January 2013
In: Philippe Coutinho, Daniel Sturridge
Out: Joe Cole, Nuri Sahin, Alexander Doni
Arguably one of the best - and rather understated - transfer windows at Anfield during FSG's tenure, as the Reds conducted sensational business as they attempted to recover from their slow start to the season.
Brazilian playmaker Coutinho was signed from Inter Milan whilst Sturridge swapped West London for Merseyside, arriving from Chelsea.
Combined, they cost less than £20million, with both players having an immediate impact and helping launch the Reds to a seventh-placed finish.
Summer 2013
In: Simon Mignolet, Iago Aspas, Mamadou Sakho, Luis Alberto, Tiago Ilori, Kolo Toure, Victor Moses (loan), Aly Cissokho (loan)
Out: Andy Carroll, Jonjo Shelvey, Stewart Downing, Jay Spearing, Dani Pacheco, Peter Gulacsi, Danny Wilson
After finishing the previous season in excellent form, the Reds attempted to refresh their squad jettisoning a number of big-money flops, including Carroll and Downing, whilst continuing to invest.
It looked as though it was going to work perfectly as the Reds enjoyed an electric start to the campaign - albeit a number of their summer signings failing to have the impact expected - with Rodgers basing an attack-minded side around the exploits of Suarez, Sturridge and homegrown prospect Raheem Sterling.
January 2014
In: N/A
Out: Adam Morgan
Following a busy summer and an extremely bright start to the season, Liverpool decided not to dip into the transfer market during the winter window. That was perhaps something of a surprise decision considering that they were firmly involved in the battle for the Premier League title.
On reflection, one loss in 19 matches in the league suggests that staying with what they had was the correct decision. That reverse - the infamous home loss at the hands of Chelsea - ultimately cost the Merseysiders the Premier League title however.
Summer 2014
In: Adam Lallana, Dejan Lovren, Lazar Markovic, Divock Origi, Alberto Moreno, Mario Balotelli, Rickie Lambert, Emre Can, Kevin Stewart, Javier Manquillo (loan)
Out: Luis Suarez, Daniel Agger, Pepe Reina, Martin Kelly, Conor Coady, Jack Robinson, Kristoffer Peterson
Buoyed by a return to the Champions League and the finances that returning to Europe's top table brings, FSG once again backed their manager with a huge £150m summer outlay with the likes of Adam Lallana, Dejan Lovren and Mario Balotelli among the headline arrivals.
Seven losses before the January transfer window suggested that their business was not well thought through and, in truth, had a bit of panic about it - notably the Balotelli deal - following the £75million sale of Suarez to Barcelona. Looking back, he was even better than everyone thought.
Not many, outside of Lallana and cult hero Divock Origi, could really have been considered a success from the summer of 2014. The £25m splashed on Lazar Markovic and £16m on Balotelli were particularly painful.
January 2015
In: N/A
Out: Suso, Oussama Assaidi
Despite a quiet winter in which they sold a couple of fringe players, Liverpool’s form recovered after the January window with a run of eight victories in 10 Premier League games.
The Reds also reached the FA Cup and League Cup semi-finals but were beaten by both Chelsea and Aston Villa before their league form collapsed once again.
A woeful 6-1 defeat to Stoke City on the final day led them to finishing sixth in the Premier League and they went into the summer with big questions over Rodgers' future.
Summer 2015
In: Roberto Firmino, Joe Gomez, Danny Ings, Nathaniel Clyne, Christian Benteke, James Milner, Allan, Adam Bogdan
Out: Raheem Sterling, Fabio Borini, Rickie Lambert, Sebastian Coates, Iago Aspas, Steven Gerrard, Glen Johnson, Brad Jones.
In what was something of a theme, Liverpool had another expensive summer and only James Milner remains at the club to this day.
Sterling quit Anfield for Man City, whilst club legend Steven Gerrard was allowed to depart. The likes of Roberto Firmino, Joe Gomez and James Milner arrived - Firmino a particular sticking point as war waged between manager Rodgers and sporting director Michael Edwards, who was having a growing influence in the boardroom.
But a huge fee was spent on Benteke, bringing in the Belgian from Aston Villa, to give Rodgers the attacking focal point he wanted. However, he failed to live up to expectations and Rodgers was sacked following a slow start to the campaign.
January 2016
In: Marko Grujic, Kamil Grabara, Steven Caulker (loan)
Out: N/A
FSG’s third manager, Jurgen Klopp did not spend heavily during his first transfer window, instead preferring to work with what he had and assessing the lay of the land.
Youngsters Marko Grujic and Kamil Grabara did arrive, whilst England defender Caulker was signed on a surprise loan deal, but Liverpool endured another disappointing end to the Premier League campaign, ultimately finishing in eighth.
They did turn their attention to European affairs however, reaching the final of the Europa League - only to fall at the final hurdle to Sevilla.
Summer 2016
In: Joel Matip, Loris Karius, Sadio Mane, Ragnar Klavan, Alex Manninger, Gini Wijnaldum
Out: Jordan Rossiter, Jose Enrique, Kolo Toure, Martin Skrtel, Sergio Canos, Joao Teixeira, Jerome Sinclair, Jordon Ibe, Joe Allen, Brad Smith, Christian Benteke, Luis Alberto, Mario Balotelli, Tiago Ilori , Jon Flanagan (loan), Adam Bogdan (loan), Danny Ward (loan), Andre Wisdom (loan), Lazar Markovic (loan)
The beginnings of the Premier League title winning squad, sporting director Edwards and Klopp partnered up for an impressive window in the German’s first full season at the club.
Joel Matip was signed on a free transfer whilst Sadio Mane and Gini Wijnaldum both arrived at the club and their impact was certainly felt at Anfield, both men key in the successes of 2019 and 2020.
Liverpool enjoyed an excellent start to the season, only losing two out of their opening 19 games.
January 2017
In: N/A
Out: Lazar Markovic (loan), Mamadou Sakho (loan), Pedro Chirivella (loan)
Another relatively quiet January window, the most notable move being Sakho’s loan switch to Crystal Palace, with the French international having well and truly fallen out of favour with Klopp.
Should FSG have dipped into the market? Certainly, Liverpool's form took a dip after Christmas, winning just nine out of their closing 19 matches to finish fourth - which did signal their first return to the Champions League since 2014.
Summer 2017
In: Mohamed Salah, Dominic Solanke, Andy Robertson, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
Out: Alex Manninger, Andre Wisdom, Lucas Leiva, Kevin Stewart, Mamadou Sakho, Pedro Chirivella (loan), Connor Randall (loan), Sheyi Ojo (loan), Divock Origi (loan)
With Liverpool having already added a couple of their famed title winners in the previous summer window, they then repeated that trick in 2017.
Egyptian forward Salah arrived from AS Roma and hit the ground running - ironically, he had not been Klopp's first-choice that summer, with the German preferring Julian Brandt - whilst recently-relegated Andrew Robertson was also recruited from Hull City.
While they never quite managed to establish themselves as title contenders, they enjoyed a very positive first-half of the campaign - mainly thanks to Salah’s stunning form and a new-look front three of he, Mane and Firmino.
January 2018
In: Virgil van Dijk
Out: Philippe Coutinho
With Liverpool having by this time put together a stunning attack - Salah eventually finishing the season with 44 goals in all competitions - it was now time to improve their defence.
Having already failed, and been forced to apologise by Southampton, the Reds finally got their man in the shape of Virgil van Dijk, agreeing to pay £75m for the Dutchman. Philippe Coutinho’s big money switch to Barcelona of course helped to finance the switch and also helped to bring balance to the side.
Once again, the Reds’ business was enough for them to secure fourth place in the Premier League. They also reached the Champions League final after a memorable run, but were defeated by Real Madrid as they made it a three-peat.
Summer 2018
In: Alisson, Naby Keita, Fabinho, Xherdan Shaqiri
Out: Emre Can, Jon Flanagan, Danny Ward, Ragnar Klavan, Danny Ings, Ovie Ejaria (loan), Adam Bogdan (loan), Harry Wilson (loan), Ryan Kent (loan), Ben Woodburn (loan), Marko Grujic (loan), Loris Karius (loan)
Following their acquisition of Van Dijk, Liverpool continued their record-breaking spending the following summer. They returned to Roma for the signing of Brazilian goalkeeper Alisson Becker, while midfield duo Fabinho and Naby Keita were sealed as Klopp continued building his squad.
The trio enjoyed instant impacts at Anfield as the Reds went undefeated throughout the first-half of the campaign, plunging them head first into a titanic title tussle with Manchester City.
January 2019
In: N/A
Out: Dominic Solanke, Nathaniel Clyne (loan), Ovie Ejaria (loan), Pedro Chirivella (loan), Lazar Markovic
Liverpool’s only defeat of the campaign came as soon as the January transfer window kicked off, as Manchester City overcame them 2-1 at the Etihad Stadium.
That defeat would prove the difference in the title race, as they finished a point behind Pep Guardiola’s men. It's hard to say bringing in anyone else to help would have worked out in making any kind of difference, such were the fine margins between first and second
They did however enjoy major success on the European front by winning the Champions League, defeating Spurs 2-0 in Madrid in the final.
Summer 2019
In: Adrian, Andy Lonergan, Harvey Elliott, Sepp van den Berg
Out: Daniel Sturridge, Simon Mignolet, Danny Ings, Alberto Moreno, Ryan Kent, Bobby Duncan, Rafa Camacho, Adam Bogdan, Connor Randall, Ovie Ejaria (loan to become permanent), Harry Wilson (loan), Marko Grujic (loan), Kamil Grabara (loan), Loris Karius (loan), Sheyi Ojo (loan), Ben Woodburn (loan), Nat Phillips (loan), Taiwo Awoniyi (loan), Allan (loan)
Another quiet window, the Reds did not actually make that many additions in an effort to improve their title credentials. Harvey Elliott was the most notable arrival as he was signed on a free transfer from Fulham with an eye on the future, while experienced Spaniard Adrian joined as No.2 'keeper following Mignolet's exit.
Klopp also attempted to streamline his squad with a number of players being released and loaned out.
Regardless, Liverpool actually managed to find arguably the best form in the history of the club having won 18 out of their 19 matches during the first-half of the season as they put themselves on track to the title, romping clear of the rest.
January 2020
In: Takumi Minamino
Out: N/A
Japanese international Minamino was a familiar name to Liverpool having impressed against the Reds in their two Champions League meetings with Salzburg in the first half of the season. He was the only arrival on Merseyside in the January window.
Despite having been on track to become the earliest Premier League title winners in history, the Reds actually became the latest as the Covid pandemic halted play for over three months. Klopp's men lost three matches after the January transfer window but still claimed the title with ease.
Summer 2020
In: Diogo Jota, Thiago Alcantara, Konstantinos Tsimikas
Out: Dejan Lovren, Ovie Ejaria, Harry Wilson (loan), Adam Lallana, Nathaniel Clyne, Sheyi Ojo (loan), Taiwo Awoniyi (loan), Loris Karius (loan), Marko Grujic (loan), Ben Woodburn (loan), Andy Lonergan
Heading into the 2020-21 season as defending Premier League champions for the first time ever, FSG and Klopp decided to spend heavily... but wisely.
Portuguese forward Diogo Jota was signed from Wolverhampton Wanderers in a big-money deal that could eventually cost £45m and he has proven to be a huge success. Thiago Alcantara was recruited from Bayern Munich for a potential £25m too. The actual amount paid in the there and then for the pair was just £9million, such were the details of the deals struck with Wolves and Bayern respectively.
Apart from their shocking 7-2 defeat to Aston Villa, the Reds actually enjoyed a bright start to the campaign and were firmly in the title race up until Christmas.
January 2021
In: Ozan Kabak (loan), Ben Davies
Out: Sepp van den Berg (loan), Takumi Minamino (loan)
Heading into the second-half of the campaign, Liverpool were struck down with a defensive injury crisis so were forced to dip into the market.
Ozan Kabak was signed on-loan from Schalke 04, whilst Ben Davies joined from Preston North End. The former did not convince, whilst the latter never played a minute for the club
The Reds lost eight matches between January and the end of the season and were somewhat fortunate to finish in the Champions League places... Alisson's late goal at West Brom ultimately proving crucial.
Summer 2021
In: Ibrahima Konate
Out: Harry Wilson, Taiwo Awoniyi, Xherdan Shaqiri, Marko Grujic (loan), Georginio Wijnaldum, Ben Davies (loan), Ben Woodburn (loan), Rhys Williams (loan), Sheyi Ojo (loan)
Following their obvious defensive worries the season before, it seemed a no-brainer for Liverpool to go out and sign a defender and that is exactly what they did.
Frenchman Ibrahima Konate arrived from German giants RB Leipzig and he was part of a much better half-campaign with Liverpool only losing two league games up until January.
January 2022
In: Luis Diaz
Out: Nathaniel Phillips (loan), Neco Williams (loan)
Arguably one of Liverpool’s most productive January signings, Colombian wide-man Diaz was recruited from Porto. He scored six goals after his arrival and helped his new side to an undefeated second half of the season, whilst they also reached the Champions League final.
They would eventually be defeated by Real Madrid once again and finished second to Man City in the race for the Premier League. They did however win the FA Cup and League Cup in a dramatic end to the campaign for Klopp’s troops.
Summer 2022
In: Darwin Nunez, Fabio Carvalho, Calvin Ramsay, Arthur Melo (loan)
Out: Sadio Mane, Neco Williams, Takumi Minamino, Marko Grujic, Ben Davies, Sheyi Ojo, Ben Woodburn, Divock Origi, Loris Karius, Rhys Williams (loan), Sepp van den Berg (loan)
The most recent window under FSG’s control was one of the most expensive of their time in charge. Benfica striker Darwin Nunez became the club’s record signing and has endured a rollercoaster start to life at Anfield.
Fabio Carvalho and Calvin Ramsay are signings for the future but fellow arrival Arthur Melo has endured a miserable time of things after joining on loan from Juventus.
The same could be said of his Liverpool teammates as they find themselves eighth in the table having won just five out of their opening 13 league matches. They will again meet Real Madrid in the Champions League, this time at the last 16 stage, when the competition returns in February. The question is whether FSG will still be in situ when those fixtures roll back around?
Overall Transfer Totals
Total Spent: £1.25bn
Total Sales: £636bn
Total Net Spend: £618m
