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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
Sport
Paul Gorst

Liverpool open up £300m gap on Manchester United as transfer strategy pays off spectacularly

Liverpool's current squad has been valued as the fourth most expensive in world football, with the Reds falling just short of the £1billion mark.

The European champions have had their collective value priced at an eye-watering £959m, with just Real Madrid, Barcelona and Manchester City above them.

Premier League champions City have the most value, according to research from OddsMonkey, with Pep Guardiola's players rated at £1.14bn ahead of Real Madrid and Barcelona who are separated by just £10m.

Paris Saint-Germain, who have the world's most expensive player in £200m Neymar in their ranks, are fifth with the French giants rated at £888.75m.

Tellingly, Liverpool 's valuation comes in at a whopping £314m more than Manchester United, who are outside the top 10 behind Tottenham, Bayern Munich, Juventus, Atletico Madrid and Chelsea.

United spent £145m in the summer to bring in Harry Maguire (£80m), Aaron Wan-Bissaka (£50m) and Daniel James (£15m) in contrast to Jurgen Klopp , who brought in teenage duo Harvey Elliott, Sepp van den Berg and experienced goalkeepers Andy Lonergan and Adrian.

Liverpool's value, which has been taken from Transfermarkt.com , is testament to the improvements of various players under Klopp as well as highlighting the excellent work of sporting director Michael Edwards in the transfer market.

The Reds signed Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah in the summers of 2016 and 2017 respectively for a combined £66.9m. Salah, alone, is now valued at £135m, while Senegal international Mane is worth £108m.

Virgil van Dijk, who saw his tag as the world's most expensive defender taken by Maguire's switch to Old Trafford, is now worth £80m himself, according to Transfermarkt, while Premier League Golden Glove winner Alisson Becker is valued at £72m over a year on from his £65m move from Roma.

Joel Matip moved to Liverpool on a free transfer in the summer of 2016 and is now worth £27m, while team-mates Gini Wijnaldum (£45m) and Jordan Henderson (£31m) have also seen their transfer values increase significantly.

Harry Maguire poses with Manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer after signing for Manchester United (Manchester United/Manchester United via Getty Images)

One of the biggest markups for the Champions League holders is Andy Robertson, who joined from Hull for around £8m over two years ago.

The influential left-back is now worth at £54m, according to the website, while his defensive colleague and Academy graduate Trent Alexander-Arnold is valued at £72m.

United have big drop offs in the value of several of their expensively assembled squad, with Eric Bailly, who was bought for over £30m three years ago now worth £22m.

Paul Pogba has retained much of his value, with the France World Cup winner still valued at close to £90m, although Juan Mata is now worth £18m alongside £27m Fred, who joined the Red Devils for over £50m just last summer.

Trent Alexander-Arnold of Liverpool kisses his winners medal following the Champions League final (Harriet Lander/Copa/Getty Images)

Despite only making the world-record move last month, Maguire has seen his valuation placed at just £45m, while Wan-Bissaka is labelled at £31m.

"It is fascinating just to see how much some squads are worth, and some still might find it surprising that Manchester City continue to top the charts ahead of Real Madrid and Barcelona," said OddsMonkey spokesman Peter Watton.

"The amount of English clubs, given the riches of the Premier League, is not a huge shock but certainly Man United not being in the top 10, must be a worry to their fans – but only highlights how much they have gone backwards since the departure of Sir Alex Ferguson."

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