Liverpool

Ranking all 77 transfers that Liverpool have made in the FSG era from worst to best: Salah, Balotelli…

Mohamed Salah, Mario Balotelli, Andy Carroll and Virgil van Dijk. Liverpool montage, TEAMtalk.

Since taking control of Liverpool in October 2010, Fenway Sports Group have certainly divided opinion at Anfield.

They’ve signed 77 players over the last 12 years and have spent £1.254billlion on transfers but fans have criticised them for their perceived lack of investment in the Liverpool squad.

According to reports, FSG are now prepared to sell their controlling stake in the club and we’ve ranked the 77 signings that Liverpool have made during their ownership.

Note: we’ve taken the transfer fees into account and new signings are only judged on what they’ve done so far.

77. Mario Balotelli

After selling Luis Suarez to Barcelona in a £75m deal in 2014, Liverpool’s owners surprisingly decided to replace him with Balotelli.

“What we wanted and what we needed was a player who could really press at the top end of the field,” Brendan Rodgers later admitted. “It wasn’t just a goalscorer we were after. I felt Mario was someone who wouldn’t work for us.

“But come the end of the summer, we were struggling to get someone who could do the role we wanted. I think the ownership group thought that this could be a player I could develop.

“They were thinking that maybe he is a £50m player that we can get for £16m. So, when the owners are wanting you to go down that route and there is no other options, then of course you give it a go.”

The gamble backfired as the striker scored just one Premier League goal for the Reds and was heavily criticised for his poor attitude. He spent the 2015/16 season on loan at AC Milan before joining Nice on a free transfer.

76. Lazar Markovic

75= Allan 

75= Ben Davies

75= Kamil Grabara

Alongside Allan, Davies and Alex Manninger, Grabara didn’t make a single first-team appearance during his time at Liverpool.

75= Alex Manninger 

71. Oussama Assaidi 

70. Luis Alberto 

69. Iago Aspas 

While Aspas has since enjoyed an impressive career at La Liga side Celta Vigo, his solitary season at Liverpool was a bit of a disaster.

The striker scored just one goal in 15 appearances in 2014/15 and his time at Anfield is best remembered for that corner kick against Chelsea.

68. Adam Bogdan

67. Tiago Ilori

66. Samed Yesil

65. Arthur Melo

64. Steven Caulker

63. Nuri Sahin 

62. Andy Carroll

After Fernando Torres joined Chelsea on transfer deadline day in January 2011, Liverpool panicked and spent a club-record fee of £35m to sign Carroll from Newcastle United.

Admittedly, the striker did endear himself to the supporters by scoring a late winner in an FA Cup semi-final victory over Everton but that strike was one of just 11 goals he managed during his time at Liverpool. 

Fortunately for Liverpool, the England international wasn’t the only striker they signed in January 2011…

Andy Carroll, April 2022

61. Christian Benteke

60. Fabio Borini

59. Charlie Adam

58. Doni

57. Joao Teixeira

56. Rickie Lambert

55. Loris Karius

It might seem strange that a former Liverpool No.1 is behind the likes of Ozan Kabak, Javier Manquillo and Kevin Stewart on this list.

But those players didn’t lose Liverpool a Champions League final, did they?

54. Sepp van den Berg

53. Ozan Kabak

52. Kevin Stewart

51. Javier Manquillo

50. Aly Cissokho

49. Alberto Moreno

48. Marko Grujic

47. Dominic Solanke

46. Victor Moses

45. Sebastian Coates

Coates struggled to break up the centre-back partnership between Daniel Agger and Martin Skrtel and made just 24 appearances for the Reds. 

The Uruguay international would probably be lower down this list if it wasn’t for the fact that his one Premier League goal was a stunning scissor kick against QPR.

44. Calvin Ramsay

43. Stewart Downing

42. Adrian

41. Mamadou Sakho

40. Jose Enrique

39. Takumi Minamino

38. Ragnar Klavan

37. Danny Ings

36. Jordon Ibe

35. Darwin Nunez

The most-expensive signing that FSG have sanctioned, Nunez joined Liverpool in 2022 in a deal that could ultimately be worth £85m.

He’s made a mixed start to life at the Reds, scoring on his debut in their 3-1 win over Manchester City in the Community Shield before getting sent off on his first start for the club.

The 23-year-old is yet to justify his price tag and still needs to work omn certain areas of his game but has a respectable record of seven goals in his first 16 appearances in all competitions.

 

34. Fabio Carvalho

33. Naby Keita

32. Nathaniel Clyne 

31. Joe Allen

30. Emre Can

29. Craig Bellamy

28. Xherdan Shaqiri

27. Simon Mignolet

26. Kolo Toure

One of the most likeable figures in football, Toure joined Liverpool on a free transfer in 2013 after being released by Manchester City.

Aside from a comical mistake against West Brom, he proved a competent and popular figure during his three years at Anfield. 

If we were ranking this list on chants alone, then the former Ivory Coast international would have been a runaway winner.

25. Kostas Tsimikas 

24. Harvey Elliott

23. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain

22. Adam Lallana 

21. Dejan Lovren

20. Ibrahima Konate

19. Divock Origi

Given that he only scored 41 goals for Liverpool in 171 appearances, Origi’s place on this ranking might seem a little high.

But he netted the decisive goal in their 4-3 aggregate win over Barcelona in the 2019 Champions League semi-finals and then came off the bench to score against Tottenham in the final.

The Belgium international also cemented his cult hero status at Anfield by scoring six goals against Mersyeside rivals Everton.

“He is, and will be for me, forever a Liverpool legend [and] one of the most important players I ever had,” Jurgen Klopp said after Origi joined AC Milan in 2022.

“That sounds completely strange with the amount of games he had, but it is, and was, a pure joy to work together with him.”

Simon Mignolet and Divock Origi celebrate after Liverpool win the Champions League final, beating Tottenham 2-0 at Wanda Metropolitano, Madrid

18. Luis Diaz

17. Thiago Alcantara

16. Diogo Jota

15. Daniel Sturridge

14. Joel Matip

13. Joe Gomez

12. Georginio Wijnaldum

11. James Milner

10. Philippe Coutinho

9. Luis Suarez

Alongside Carroll, Suarez also joined Liverpool on transfer deadline day in January 2011 but the pair had contrasting fortunes at Anfield.

The Uruguay international helped fill the void left by Torres’ departure and registered 82 goals and 47 assists in 133 appearances for Liverpool.

While Suarez left Anfield with just a League Cup trophy to his name, he almost fired Liverpool to the Premier League title in 2013/14 after producing one of the great individual seasons in the league’s history.

8. Fabinho

7. Jordan Henderson

6. Roberto Firmino

5. Alisson Becker

4. Andy Robertson

3. Sadio Mane

2. Virgil van Dijk

1. Mohamed Salah

There was only ever going to be one winner.

Salah joined Liverpool from Roma in a £35m deal in 2016 and enjoyed a remarkable debut season, scoring 44 goals in 52 appearances in all competitions.

He’s since helped the Reds win the Premier League, FA Cup, League Cup, Champions League, FIFA World Club Cup and UEFA Super Cup and is widely regarded as one of the best players in the world.

READ MORE: Eight of Jurgen Klopp’s biggest transfer regrets during his time at Liverpool: Mane, Keita and more…

Liverpool Mohamed Salah FSG

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