Liverpool biggest signings of all time: Alexander Isak knocks Florian Wirtz off perch

While Liverpool don’t have the unlimited funds of some of their Premier League rivals, they’re not afraid of splashing the cash when they feel it is necessary.

The Reds made a number of big-money additions during Jurgen Klopp’s tenure and have now backed Arne Slot in the transfer market.

We’ve taken a look at the 10 most expensive signings in Liverpool’s history and how they have fared at Anfield.

Note: we’ve included any potential add-ons in the figures and all statistics are correct as of the end of the 2024/25 season.

10. Luis Diaz – £50m

• From: Porto
• Year: 2022
• Liverpool appearances: 148

Liverpool fought off competition from Tottenham to sign Diaz in January 2022 in a deal worth an initial £37.5million and another £12.5million in potential add-ons.

He hit the ground running and won two trophies in his debut half-season after producing man-of-the-match performances in the League Cup and FA Cup finals.

The Colombia international is renowned for his impressive work rate and has also improved his end product, registering 17 goals and eight assists in all competitions in 2024/25.

But it turned out to be his last with the club before he left for Bayern Munich.

9. Naby Keita – £52.75m

• From: RB Leipzig
• Year: 2018
• Liverpool appearances: 129

Having starred for RB Leipzig in the Bundesliga, expectations were high when Keita completed a £52.75million move to Liverpool in 2018.

The midfielder displayed flashes of brilliance but failed to live up to the billing due to a number of injury problems and a lack of consistency on the pitch.

He made just 84 Premier League appearances during his five-year stint at Anfield and joined Werder Bremen on a free transfer in 2023.

8. Alexis MacAllister – £55m

• From: Brighton
• Year: 2023
• Liverpool appearances: 95

MacAllister shot to prominence with his performances at the 2022 World Cup and moved to Liverpool a few months later in a deal worth an initial £35million and another £20million in add-ons.

The Argentina international has become a fan favourite at Anfield and was nominated for the PFA Players’ Player of the Year award in 2024/25 after helping the Reds win the Premier League.

“(He’s a) very important player, (has) game intelligence (and is) so comfortable on the ball,” Slot said.

“But what makes him even more special to me is normally players that have so much game inside and are so comfortable on the ball are not as aggressive and intense without the ball.

“He is one of the few players in the world that combines this great game intelligence, great on the ball, but (with) a tenacity without the ball.”

Alexis Mac Allister scores special goals 🚀

Two years at Liverpool for the Argentinian ❤️ pic.twitter.com/L1fudGMTNw

— Premier League (@premierleague) June 8, 2025

7. Dominik Szoboszlai – £60.1m

• From: RB Leipzig
• Year: 2023
• Liverpool appearances: 94

Szoboszlai followed in the footsteps of Naby Keita and Ibrahima Konate in the summer of 2023 after Liverpool triggered the £60.1million release clause in his RB Leipzig contract.

While the all-action midfielder has been criticised for his lack of end product, he did still play a key role in their Premier League title win in 2024/25.

“In my opinion, he is a bit underestimated,” Slot said. “Not by me, but he doesn’t always get the credits for the fact he is very important for this team, because his work-rate is un-be-lievable.

“He just keeps on running with the highest intensity, and that is so important for a team that wants to compete for something.”

6. Alisson Becker – £65m

• From: Roma
• Year: 2018
• Liverpool appearances: 298

After Loris Karius’ error-strewn display in the 2018 Champions League final, Liverpool addressed their problem position with the addition of Alisson from Roma.

He cost an initial £56million with another £9million in add-ons and temporarily became the most expensive goalkeeper of all time until Kepa Arrizabalaga usurped him a few weeks later.

Unlike Kepa, the Brazil international has more than lived up to his price tag and is widely regarded as one of the best goalkeepers in Premier League history.

5. Virgil van Dijk – £75m

• From: Southampton
• Year: 2018
• Liverpool appearances: 319

Eyebrows were raised when it was announced that Van Dijk would join Liverpool in January 2018 in a transfer worth £75million – a then world record fee for a defender.

But the centre-back silenced his doubters by winning the PFA Player of the Year award and the Champions League in his first full season at Anfield.

He’s since added two Premier League titles, an FA Cup, two League Cups, the Community Shield, a UEFA Super Cup and the FIFA World Club Cup to his trophy cabinet and will go down as one of Liverpool’s greatest-ever players.

You shall not pass 🛑

Treat yourself to Virgil van Dijk absolutely bossing these 1v1s pic.twitter.com/NXgZIbo64t

— Premier League (@premierleague) April 17, 2025

4. Hugo Ekitike – £79million

• From: Eintracht Frankfurt
• Year: 2025

As well as exploring a record-breaking move for Newcastle’s Alexander Isak in the summer of 2025, Liverpool beat the Magpies to one of their preferred targets for the striker role.

Ekitike didn’t come cheap either after scoring 22 goals the season before for Eintracht Frankfurt and boasting potential to improve further at the age of 23.

Liverpool splashed out an initial £69m for Ekitike in July, proposing up to a further £10m with add-ons.

Ekitike has signed a six-year contract on Merseyside and went on to score in his first three consecutive appearances for Liverpool.

3. Darwin Nunez – £85million

• From: Benfica
• Year: 2022
• Liverpool appearances: 143

After scoring 34 goals in 41 appearances for Benfica in the 2021/22 season, Nunez established himself as one of the most sought-after strikers in European football.

He joined Liverpool in a deal worth an initial £64million and another £21million in add-ons and was billed as the potential long-term replacement for Roberto Firmino.

But the Uruguay international has been unable to replicate his Benfica form in a Liverpool shirt, scoring just 40 goals in 143 appearances for the club.

Liverpool looked to cut their losses with the 26-year-old accepted an offer for him to join Al Hilal in the summer of 2025.

2. Florian Wirtz – £116m

• From: Bayer Leverkusen
• Year: 2025

Liverpool launched a double raid on Bayer Leverkusen in the summer of 2025, buying Wirtz and Jeremie Frimpong from the Bundesliga side.

They paid £29.5million for Frimpong and a club-record fee for Wirtz, with the midfielder costing an initial £100million and another £16million in add-ons.

“I’m really excited to have a new adventure in front of me,” he said. “This was also a big point of my thoughts: that I want to have something completely new, to go out of the Bundesliga and to join the Premier League.

“Last season they won the Premier League so my goal is for sure to win it again and also to go further in the Champions League. I’m really ambitious. I’m not coming [to] have fun here, I want also to achieve something and give the fans what they deserve.”

READ MORE: Liverpool wages: Top 10 highest-paid players at Anfield after Florian Wirtz transfer

1. Alexander Isak – £125m

• From: Newcastle United
• Year: 2025

If the add-ons had all come into play for Wirtz, he would have become the most expensive signing in British football history – but he was surpassed by another major Liverpool buy before that could happen.

Liverpool succeeded in prising Isak away from Newcastle on deadline day in September 2025, securing a proven Premier League striker to take their attack to another level.

After signing a six-year contract, he said: “I think it’s a mixture of what the club is building, but what they’re building on top of what the club already is. The history of the club. Me getting the chance to be a part of this, I want to create history.

“I want to win trophies. That’s ultimately the biggest motivation for me and I feel like this is the perfect place for me to grow even further and to take my game to the next level and help the team as well.”