When Jurgen Klopp joined Liverpool in 2015, the Reds were struggling to maintain their status as an elite Premier League with no considerable amount of success since winning the Champions League in 2015.
Under Brendan Rodgers' tutelage, Liverpool had come close to winning the league title in the 2013/14 season but they missed out by a whisker to Manchester City in the final few game weeks of the league.
The German manager had an uphill task to build the team and regain the club's lost glory and five years down the line, he has managed to make Liverpool not only one of the top clubs in the world but also won a Champions League and Premier League title after 30 years in 2020.
The Reds spent approximately £550m on 30 players in the last five years. While some turned out to be exceptional for the club, some failed miserably. Jurgen Klopp's most notable singings are the team's attacking trio of Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah.
The club's most expensive signings are Virgil van Dijk and Alisson Becker who came for club-record fees of £75m and £65m respectively. But both the players have lived up to their price tags and have been the team's finest performers in the last few seasons.
Compared to Klopp, Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer have shelled out more money on a lesser number of players. The Norwegian manager has so far spent £414m approximately on 14 players in the past three seasons. The summer of 2021 proved to be the most extravagant window for the Red Devils in the Solskjaer era as they spent more than £120m to sign players like Jadon Sancho, Raphael Varane and Cristiano Ronaldo. It has to be noted though that the Portuguese superstar came on a free transfer from Juventus.
Here, we take a look at the gross spendings of Jurgen Klopp and Ole Gunnar Solskjae on players transfers during their time at Liverpool and Manchester United respectively.
How much has Jurgen Klopp spent at Liverpool in transfers?
| Player | Club | Transfer fee |
|---|---|---|
| Marko Grujic | Red Star Belgrade | £5.1m |
| Steven Caulker | QPR | Loan |
| Kamil Grabara | Ruch Chorzow | £250,000 |
| Sadio Mané | Southampton | £30m |
| Loris Karius | Mainz 05 | £4.7m |
| Joel Matip | Schalke 04 | Free |
| Ragnar Klavan | Augsburg | £4.2m |
| Alex Manninger | FC Augsburg | Free |
| Georginio Wijnaldum | Newcastle United | £25m |
| Mohamed Salah | Roma | £43.9m |
| Dominic Solanke | Chelsea | £4m |
| Andy Robertson | Hull City | £10m |
| Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain | Arsenal | £35m |
| Virgil Van Dijk | Southampton | £75m |
| Naby Keita | RB Leipzig | £52.75 |
| Fabinho Tavarez | AS Monaco | £43.7m |
| Xherdan Shaqiri | Stoke City | £13.75m |
| Alisson Becker | Roma | £65m |
| Sepp van den Berg | PEC Zwolle | £4.4m |
| Harvey Elliott | Fulham | £4.4m |
| Adrián San Miguel | West Ham United | Free |
| Andy Lonergan | Middlesbrough | Free |
| Takumi Minamino | RB Leipzig | £7.25m |
| Kostas Tsimikas | Olympiacos | £11.75m |
| Thiago Alcantara | Bayern Munich | £27.4m |
| Diogo Jota | Wolves | £45m |
| Ben Davies | Preston North End | £1.6m |
| Ozan Kabak | Schalke 04 | Loan |
| Kaide Gordon | Derby County | £3.4m |
| Ibrahima Konaté | RB Leipzig | £36m |
| Total | £553.45 |
How much has Ole Gunnar Solskjær spent at Manchester United in players transfers?
| Player | Club | Transfer fee |
|---|---|---|
| Harry Maguire | Leicester City | £80m |
| Bruno Fernandes | Sporting Lisbon | £47m |
| Aaron Wan-Bissaka | Crystal Palace | £50m |
| Edinson Cavani | PSG | Free |
| Jadon Sancho | Borussia Dortmund | £72.9m |
| Amad Diallo | Atalanta | £37m |
| Daniel James | Swansea City | £25m |
| Tom Heaton | Aston Villa | Free |
| Facundo Pellistri | Penarol | £8.5m |
| Nathan Bishop | Southend United | Undisclosed fee |
| Donny van de Beek | Ajax | £39m |
| Alex Telles | FC Porto | £15.4m |
| Raphael Varane | Real Madrid | £41m |
| Cristiano Ronaldo | Juventus | Free |
| Total | £415.8 |