Liverpool transfer spending compared to Premier League: Is Jurgen Klopp right that Reds can't afford to keep up?

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has come under fire for maintaining a firm stance on the club's spending habits.

While the club trots out players like Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister in their 2023/24 Premier League opener against Chelsea, who as a pair cost a combined €112 million in transfer fees, Klopp continues to maintain that Liverpool are behind their rival Premier League clubs in spending power.

Over the past five years, the Reds have spent big money on the likes of Darwin Nunez, Cody Gakpo, Luis Diaz, and even going further back to comparatively huge fees paid for Alisson, Virgil van Dijk and Sadio Mane.

Yet you might be surprised to find that he's not completely off base. The Sporting News dove into just how Liverpool spend compared to the rest of the Premier League's biggest clubs.

MORE: Premier League top goalscorers for 2023/24: Can anyone match Haaland?

What did Jurgen Klopp say about Liverpool spending?

For years, Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has publicly railed against big spending at the top level of football. He has maintained that the Reds cannot financially keep up with the major clubs in Europe, and even threatened to leave managing if spending continued to increase.

"If you bring one player in for £100 million or whatever and he gets injured then it all goes through the chimney," Klopp said way back in 2016 when Manchester United broke the transfer record to sign Paul Pogba. "The day that this is football, I'm not in a job any more, because the game is about playing together.

"Other clubs can go out and spend more money and collect top players, yes. Do I have to do it differently to that? I don't know exactly how much money we could spend because nobody has told me up to this point 'no, no, no, you can't do this'. If I spend money it is because I am trying to build a real team. You can win championships; you can win titles. But maybe there is a manner in which you want it."

Klopp has been forced to swallow his pride after understanding the landscape has altered permanently.

"Everything changed," he said when asked about Liverpool's spending prior to the start of the 2023/24 season and that comment around the Pogba deal resurfaced. "Do I like it? No. Did I realise I was wrong? Yes. That's the way it goes. Saudi Arabia will not help with that. In the end, we have to try and make sure we get the best possible team together."

Yet Klopp didn't completely U-turn and made sure to insinuate one more time that, in his mind, Liverpool still lag behind other big clubs in spending capabilities.

"We aren't a club with endless resources and we didn't expect a couple of things to happen this summer," Klopp said after being asked about spending big money on Moises Caicedo, a deal which has yet to be completed.

How Liverpool spending compares to big Premier League clubs

So, is Jurgen Klopp right? How have Liverpool spent money in the transfer market compared to other Premier League clubs?

Actually, as crazy as it sounds given the big-money purchases the Reds have made in recent years... yes, he is right.

Of the "big six" Premier League clubs, Liverpool have by far the lowest net spend over the last five years, maintaining an extremely consistent balance sheet while the other five clubs spend and sell wildly.

Liverpool's net spend of €194.7 million over the past half decade is nearly half the next-lowest club Manchester City, with both those teams managing to offset costs with transfer departures on a consistent basis. Manchester United and Arsenal are the two biggest spenders, with Chelsea only managing to stay out of that group thanks to a massive net income five years ago.

Premier League "Big Six" net spend — Last 5 seasons

Transfer figures as of Aug. 13, 2023 via Transfermarkt.com

Okay, so maybe Liverpool are able to offset costs with sales, and that's all well and good, but how about their wage bill?

Player wages are a good indicator of how powerfully a club can spend, when you remove the ability to offset costs with income. Here, we see the true financial might of the clubs pretty clearly ranked, with the two Manchester clubs far and away the most powerful.

Liverpool again display surprising consistency on the balance sheet, compared to other clubs who seem to fluctuate year to year on a far more regular basis. Chelsea, meanwhile, flexed their financial might with last season's wage bill, but after finishing 12th and seemingly spending above their means, the Blues slashed their salary expenditure for the coming season.

Premier League "Big Six" wage bills — Last 5 seasons

Wage figures as of Aug. 13, 2023 via Capology.com

Premier League 2023/24 TV channels, live streams

UK: Matches are carried across Sky Sports and TNT Sports streaming and TV platforms, with select matches on Amazon Prime.

USA: Select matches are televised on USA Network (English) and Telemundo or Universo (Spanish), and all three channels can be streamed on Fubo. The rest of the matches are streamed on NBC platform Peacock for subscribers.

Canada: Every Premier League game this season is live streamed exclusively via Fubo in Canada.

Australia: Fans in Australia can stream every match live and on demand on Optus Sport.

India: Star Sports network has the rights to show Premier League matches in India. As well as an English broadcast on Star Sports Select, select matches will be available via regional feeds on Star Sports 3 (in Bengali, English, Kannada, Malayalam), Star Sports 1 (Bangla) and Star Sports 1 (Tamil).