10 Most Expensive Liverpool Transfer Departures Of All Time (Ranked) | OneFootball

Liverpool have made some serious profit from outgoing transfers in recent years.

The Reds have been applauded since the 2010s for their cunning forward-thinking when it comes to bringing new talent to Anfield, which has contributed to the club winning every trophy possible under the reins of legendary manager Jurgen Klopp.

As we are currently in the transfer window, and with big names having left Liverpool already this summer, we thought it would be a good time to look back on some of the big-money departures that have left the club over the years.

Thanks to the help of TransferMarkt and other sources, here are the 10 most expensive outgoing transfers from Liverpool.

10 Dominic Solanke - £19 million

Coming in at number 10, we have who was arguably a pretty forgettable figure at Anfield. In the defence of Dominic Solanke, he was a fairly young player who arrived at Anfield from Chelsea on a free transfer in the summer of 2017.

Unfortunately for the youngster, Mohamed Salah arrived that same summer, which essentially was the final piece in the puzzle for the Reds' formidable front free alongside Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino.

£19 million for the out-of-favour forward.

9 Danny Ings - £20 million

Danny Ings arrived at Liverpool in 2014 with the weight of Anfield on his shoulders.

Supporters didn't know this at the time, but the Englishman was meant to be brought in as a squad player to link up with Alexis Sanchez, who ended up moving to Arsenal from Barcelona that same summer - leaving Brendan Rodgers' side short of quality at the top end.

After just missing out on the title the season prior, Liverpool started poorly and failed to hit the ground running during the 2014/15 campaign, with Ings struggling to settle in.

Ings only scored three times from 14 appearances, but this was largely due to two ACL injuries in both injuries which took place during that timeframe, significantly reducing his playing time.

Who knows how Ings would have fared had he avoided injury. Nevertheless, Liverpool managed to rake in £20 million for his departure to Southampton for £20 million including add-ons. A great deal for the Reds.

8 Mamadou Sakho - £26 million

The French centre-back Mamadou Sakho quickly turned into a bit of a cult hero at Anfield.

His performance, in particular, against Borussia Dortmund in the Europa League is arguably his standout performance in a red shirt, scoring from a corner which helped in Liverpool's fightback to come from 3-1 down on the night - to win 4-3 thanks to a spectacular Dejan Lovren late winner.

Klopp liked Sakho, and as a result, gave him the number three shirt for the 2016/17 campaign. However, things took a turn for the worse after he was sent home from the United States pre-season tour for turning up late to flights and team meals.

£26 million.

7 Christian Benteke - £27 million

Arriving at Liverpool as one of Rodgers' staple summer signings in 2015, it marked the beginning of the end for the Northern Irish tactician.

Having worked under two different managers, the Belgian striker can consider himself unlucky as his time at Anfield didn't work out as he would have wanted. When Klopp arrived at the club, the German realised quickly that Benteke simply didn't suit his style of play, and would often find himself on the bench and making small cameos here and there.

As a result, Benteke only scored nine goals from 29 outings that season. Despite this, Liverpool still managed to retrieve most of the £32 million fee they paid Aston Villa the summer before, with Crystal Palace paying £27 million for the forward.

6 Xabi Alonso - £30 million

Quite simply a legend at Liverpool, Xabi Alonso is unsurprisingly quite high up this list.

Having arrived at Anfield in 2004 as nothing more than a young prospect but highly scouted, Rafael Benitez quickly turned his outfield compatriot into one of the world's best midfielders.

Alonso played a huge part in Liverpool's famous Champions League win in 2005, scoring the penalty to bring the score level in their phenomenal comeback against AC Milan. The former Spain international would go on to make a staggering 210 appearances for the Merseysiders - before being part of the huge Real Madrid rebuild in the summer of 2010, joining the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo in the Spanish capital for £30 million.

5 Sadio Mane - £35 million

LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - MARCH 07: Sadio Mane of Liverpool celebrates scoring a goal during the Premier League match between Liverpool FC and AFC Bournemouth at Anfield on March 07, 2020 in Liverpool, United Kingdom. (Photo by Jan Kruger/Getty Images)

Speaking of legends, and there are a few more to mention on this list, Sadio Mane is certainly one of them.

The Senegalese winger won every trophy imaginable as part of Klopp's infamous front three with Salah and Firmino, making the Reds one of the scariest attacking teams in Europe during the late 2010s and early 2020s.

Mane won every trophy at Liverpool, including the Champions League in 2019 and the Premier League in 2020, within a team that was constantly involved in title races and European finals.

However, Mane felt his time came to an end after Liverpool's 1-0 defeat to Real Madrid in the 2022 UCL Final, and left to join Bayern Munich for £35 million. He still has the hearts of Liverpool fans to this day.

4 Raheem Sterling - £49 million

It's fair to say that Raheem Sterling had an interesting spell at Liverpool, which ultimately ended in flames.

The Jamaican-born winger arrived at the club as a youngster from Queens Park Rangers for £450,000 under Benitez and worked tirelessly up the ranks to Brendan Rodgers' first-team during the early 2010s.

Arguably Sterling's best season for Liverpool was his breakthrough campaign during 2013/14, where he would score goals in the League Cup and make a huge contribution during their title charge against Manchester City, only to fall short in the final three games of the season.

But after a forgettable 2014/15 season, Sterling wanted to move on and did an interview with the BBC saying he turned down a new contract, which upset Rodgers.

Having not budged from his stance, Liverpool thought that enough was enough and accepted an initial £49 million for Sterling who made the move to the Etihad Stadium.

3 Fernando Torres - £50 million

LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - MARCH 28: Fernando Torres of Liverpool celebrates scoring the opening goal during the Barclays Premier League match between Liverpool and Sunderland at Anfield on March 28, 2010 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)

A name that used to send shivers down the spines of defenders, it's fair to say that Fernando Torres had the best days of his career in a Liverpool shirt.

Fans around the world were hugely excited to see the Spaniard, sporting long blond hair, take the famous number nine shirt, and they had every reason to be. Torres would go on to break records held by the likes of Roger Hunt and Ruud van Nistelrooy in his maiden campaign, scoring in eight successive home games and taking the record for the most prolific foreign goal scorer in a debut season in England.

His involvement during Liverpool's iconic 4-1 win against Manchester United during the 2008/09 season further solidified his status as an Anfield hero.

However, his form spectacularly tailed off during the following 18 months and Chelsea's £50 million bid was too good for Liverpool to turn down. Former Reds' Jamie Carragher famously commented on it on Sky Sports: "Torres' time was done. £50 million for Torres at that time you were more than happy with. Couldn't believe it."

2 Luis Suarez - £75 million

Just missing out on the number one spot is one of the greatest number sevens to ever play for Liverpool, Luis Suarez.

A truly unique player in his own right, the Uruguayan striker arrived in January 2011 and was the immediate replacement for the outgoing Fernando Torres.

Suarez made an immediate impact, helping the Reds finish sixth from 12th in the table and to a League Cup win against Cardiff City 12 months later.

But it was the 2013/14 campaign when the world stopped and watched Suarez in ore, winning the Golden Boot and FA Writers' Player of the Year with 31 goals during a season where Liverpool narrowly missed out on Premier League glory to Manchester City.

However, after several biting incidents and racist abuse convictions from the FA, Liverpool decided to sell to Barcelona who paid a staggering £64.98 million which ended up being £75 million thanks to add-ons, making him one of the most expensive players in history at the time.

1 Philippe Coutinho - £146 million

It simply had to be Philippe Coutinho at number one, didn't it?

During his time at Liverpool, the Brazilian was easily one of the most desired attacking midfielders in Europe - and his performances under both Rodgers and Klopp caught the eyes of the scouts from some of the world's best clubs.

At the end of the 2016/17 campaign, it's safe to say that Coutinho had a strong season after finishing as the club's joint top scorer in the Premier League and was highly effective from the left-hand side of Klopp's 4-3-3 system.

But after scoring 54 goals and providing 45 assists in 201 appearances since 2013, Coutinho felt his time at the club had come to an end. In January 2018, Barcelona came along with a staggering £146 million