With the departure of Jordan Henderson and Fabinho to Saudi Arabia, Liverpool will have cut more than £900,000 a week from their wages this summer.
It’s been a summer of dramatic change at Anfield, and probably a bigger one than Jürgen Klopp hoped for in a single transfer window.
Roberto Firmino opted to leave on a free transfer, while the club shelved Klopp when it came to extra time for James Milner, also releasing Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
There was another departure in late June when Arthur’s loan expired: the midfielder then moved on to Fiorentina for his next temporary deal.
Now both Henderson and Fabinho join Saudi Pro League clubs, with the pair signing deals with Al Ettifaq and Al-Ittihad respectively. As a result, Liverpool took £915,000 a week in wages off the payroll – or a whopping £47.58m a year.
Henderson (£200,000 a week), Fabinho (£180,000 a week) and Firmino (£180,000 a week) were among the club’s highest earners, while Keita (£120,000 a week) and Oxlade-Chamberlain (£120,000 a week) were also received hefty salaries.
Milner was thought to be earning £60,000 a week after signing a one-year contract last summer, while reports from Italy have suggested Liverpool contributed £55,000 a week to Arthur’s salary at Juventus.
That frees up a significant amount for the future – and could increase even further if Thiago (£200,000 a week) moves on.
However, despite interest from Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Spain, the Spaniard is not expected to leave at this stage. Liverpool have already signed two new players in Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai.
Mac Allister is set to earn £150,000-a-week after joining Brighton for £35million, while Szoboszlai’s salary has been reliably estimated at £120,000-a-week.
Despite these gains, Liverpool’s wage bill is still down £645,000 a week, or £33.54m a year, this summer.
Those funds will be used elsewhere, including a deal for the likely next signing of Romeo Lavia, with Trent Alexander-Arnold among those whose terms will be improved.
Either way, the departures of six veteran midfielders and Firmino have given Liverpool much more financial leeway. There could be other signings alongside Mac Allister, Szoboszlai and Lavia, with another midfielder and left-back on the agenda.
