{"id":198402,"date":"2025-06-19T23:43:13","date_gmt":"2025-06-19T23:43:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/198402\/"},"modified":"2025-06-19T23:43:13","modified_gmt":"2025-06-19T23:43:13","slug":"what-liverpool-are-about-to-spend-400m-on-blows-florian-wirtz-fee-out-the-water-this-is-how-titles-are-won","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/198402\/","title":{"rendered":"What Liverpool are about to spend \u00a3400m on blows Florian Wirtz fee out the water, ‘this is how titles are won’"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

FSG understand that stories are more powerful than equations \u2013 and Liverpool\u2019s imminent capture of Florian Wirtz illustrates just how well the owners have finessed one particular financial narrative.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Liverpool<\/a> are often characterised as the football finance<\/a> equivalent of a card counter in Vegas. <\/p>\n

They\u2019re outnumbered, often outspent, but always bending the odds of the transfer market<\/a> in their favour while everyone else in the Premier League<\/a> and beyond burns through chips.<\/p>\n

To many observers, the blockbuster signing of Florian Wirtz, whose medical is scheduled for Friday<\/a>, for a basic fee of around \u00a3100m potentially rising to a British-record \u00a3116m with add-ons was a dramatic departure from FSG\u2019s<\/a> philosophy.<\/p>\n

\"FlorianPhoto by Jonathan Moscrop\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

This, it seemed, was Liverpool finally behaving like a kingpin: not just targeting the data-backed gem with outsized market value but instead putting those goliath commercial revenues to use and signing an oven-ready superstar.<\/p>\n

In reality, though, Liverpool have outspent nearly everyone in world football for years, they have just done so more subtly than their rivals and \u2013 arguably \u2013 have actively nurtured the myth of their frugality.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s more, they are infinitely more efficient with what they do spend. <\/p>\n

Look at the transfer net spend table in the 15 years since FSG arrived on Merseyside and you\u2019ll see that the balances of the so-called Big Six plus Newcastle United are significantly higher than Liverpool\u2019s, while the likes of West Ham and Aston Villa are around the same. Take a look at the wage bill, however, and it\u2019s a totally different picture.<\/p>\n

\"LiverpoolLiverpool cumulative wage bill<\/p>\n

Credit: Adam Williams\/TBR Football\/GRV Media<\/p>\n

By the time their accounts for 2024-25 are released, Liverpool will have paid players and staff close to \u00a34bn since the takeover in 2010. <\/p>\n

With Florian Wirtz<\/a>, Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong on the payroll next season plus new deals for Mohamed Salah and Virgil Van Dijk, the 2025-26 wage bill will probably surpass Manchester City\u2019s as the biggest in the Premier League.<\/p>\n

In global terms, only Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain will spend more. It\u2019s nothing Liverpool can\u2019t afford, mind. FSG have never put any of their own money into the football side of the business, though they have invested significantly in infrastructure.<\/p>\n

Even if Arne Slot, Michael Edwards and Richard Hughes can persuade Alexander Isak to part with Newcastle this summer, the enormous fee that Newcastle would demand will be sourced entirely from Liverpool\u2019s own revenues.<\/p>\n

So while Wirtz swapping Leverkusen for L4 in a nine-figure deal might initially look like an anomaly, it\u2019s actually just the data presenting itself in a different way. <\/p>\n

FSG\u2019s investment in Liverpool\u2019s wage bill is \u2018how titles are won\u2019, says finance expert<\/p>\n

Next season, Liverpool\u2019s wage bill will fly past \u00a3400m \u2013 and potentially by quite a margin, depending in which season bonuses for winning the Premier League in 2024-25 are formally paid out.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe narrative that Liverpool are frugal in the wage department isn\u2019t accurate,\u201d says University of Liverpool football finance lecturer Kieran Maguire in an exclusive conversation with TBR Football<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\n

With LFC\u2019s 2024\/25 financial period complete, I\u2019ll provide some initial\/rough *estimates* (w\/ full write-up this weekend).<\/p>\n

Key P&L metrics estimated to improve notably vs 2023\/24:
\u2013 Rev of \u00a3714m (+\u00a3100m; +16.3%)
\u2013 Adj EBITDA of \u00a3140m (+\u00a370m)
\u2013 Pre-tax profit of \u00a348m (+\u00a3105m) pic.twitter.com\/F034r55vXO<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Greg Cordell (@gregorypcordell) June 10, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

View Tweet<\/p>\n

\u201cIt also ignores the fact that you should be talking about wages and amortisation as a proportion of revenue. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis is how titles are won and it has a greater impact of course on the Squad Cost Control rules which are being implemented by UEFA already and could form the basis of a revision to the Premier League system too. <\/p>\n

\u201cLiverpool\u2019s amortisation in 2023-24 was \u00a3114m compared to \u00a3190m at Man United, \u00a3192m at Chelsea, \u00a3170m at Arsenal and \u00a3165m at Man City. They have got \u00a350m-plus of wiggle room there. <\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019ve renewed the contracts of Salah and Van Dijk, who are first-team picks with close to zero amortisation costs. Liverpool focus on the total cost of employing the squad \u2013 this is one of the reasons FSG are so smart.<\/p>\n

\"ChartPremier League wages-to-turnover ratios<\/p>\n

Credit: Adam Williams\/TBR Football\/GRV Media<\/p>\n

\u201cWirtz is a big transfer and you\u2019re looking at \u00a311m per season there in wages. I\u2019ve never bought into the narrative about Liverpool being frugal because I look at the facts. Player contracts are hugely incentivised and there is a lack of nuance in the way we discuss this.\u201d<\/p>\n

Liverpool\u2019s PSR position after Florian Wirtz deal<\/p>\n

Under Premier League Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR), clubs are allowed to lose \u00a3105m over a rolling three-season period, while UEFA\u2019s system has a slightly lower upper limit at around \u00a375m. Under both systems, the bulk of the losses must be underwritten by an owner.<\/p>\n

Under the UEFA system also includes a squad cost rule whereby clubs can spend no more than 70 per cent of turnover plus profit on players on player and head coach wages, transfers and agents\u2019 fees.<\/p>\n

\"LiverpoolPhoto by Jack Thomas \u2013 WWFC\/Wolves via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Despite the \u00a3100m-plus outlay on Wirtz and with more signings to come, Liverpool have no issues under the European or domestic PSR system.<\/p>\n

They will reveal a chunky profit when they release their accounts for 2024-25 and, while they might swing back to a loss in 2025-26 with amortised but big-money transfer fees, they will still have ample manoeuvrability.<\/p>\n