Liverpool's transfer strategy in recent years has been both lauded and criticised.
For some their approach to recruitment through seeking value where others may have missed it thanks to statistical analysis is something that should be applauded at a time when heavy spend and strategy don't always go hand in hand.
For others it has been seen a sign of a perceived lack of ambition and investment into the club to the playing side of the club by owners Fenway Sports Group, something that threatens to leave them trailing the likes of Manchester City and Chelsea in the future.
Ultimately, the health of Liverpool as a football club on the pitch has been underpinned greatly by the health off it, and with the Reds one of only two Premier League clubs to have recorded an economic profit over the last five years - the other being Burnley - success has been delivered through the very clear FSG strategy, one that sees the Reds as one of very few top clubs that truly spend within their means.
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A key aspect of that has been the success that the Reds have enjoyed through player recruitment and ensuring that money spent on players is done in a way doesn't see money head out of the door and fail to return in any meaningful way.
Figures presented by football finance expert Swiss Ramble have broken down outgoings of players over the past five years against what was paid to acquire their services in the first place.
Of those who have left the club in the last five years, a total of £234.1m was spent on their acquisitions, while the profit that has been returned on their sales comes in at £321.3m, with the profit coming out at £98.4m
Of course, much of that profit comes from the 2018 sale of Phillipe Coutinho to Barcelona for £142m, the Brazilian having initially signed for the Reds for £11.7m from Inter Milan in January of 2013. In the five years he was a Liverpool player he thrived and when he left Anfield the profit that was returned was £109.8m. The funds brought in from his sale allowed for the transformational signings of Virgil van Dijk and Alisson Becker.
Other big player profits came from academy product Rhian Brewster's £23.4m move to Sheffield United in 2020; Dominic Solanke's £19.1m switch to Bournemouth during the 2018/19 campaign; Harry Wilson's switch to Fulham last summer (£17.2m profit thanks to transfer fee and previous loan fees); Danny Ings' switch to Southampton in 2019 (£15.1m profit); Danny Ward's move to Leicester City (£12.5m profit); and Mamadou Sakho's switch to Crystal Palace (£10.4m profit).
Other players to have turned significant profits for Liverpool upon their departure have been Ki-Jana Hoever, Marko Grujic, Taiwon Awoniyi, Ryan Kent, Rafa Camacho, Kevin Stewart, Andre Wisdom, Ovie Ejaria, Kamil Grabara, Allan, Liam Millar and Herbie Kane.
Of the 37 players to have left the club in the last five years, 12 of them have been at a loss. That combined loss has come in at £159.5m. Much of that has been made up of players who have left the club on free transfers at the end of their contract, including Adam Lallana, Nathaniel Clyne, Lazar Markovic, Alberto Moreno, Emre Can and Gini Wijnaldum.
In contrast with some of their rivals, Chelsea's player trading during the same period has seen them make £198.6m profit on players, while Tottenham Hotspur made a loss of £51m; Manchester City made a loss of £131.8m; Arsenal a loss of £163m and Manchester United £192m.
Manchester City have won trophies through their losses on player spend, and their owners and fans would likely argue that has been a price worth paying.
But while Liverpool and Chelsea have both achieved silverware in the past five years, both of them getting their hands on a Champions League crown and Premier League title, Manchester United, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur have little to show for their heavy losses when it comes to player trading. The gap between the trio and Liverpool standing at £504.4m.
