Liverpool’s transfer business has been conducted in a professional manner across the past decade.
To put it another way, Jurgen Klopp’s advent on Merseyside opened up a new world of possibility for Liverpool, who refined their strategy and worked wonders on the field with the near unerring signings made throughout the dynasty.
But it wasn’t always like that. In the years preceding the German, Liverpool were, unfortunately, something of a ‘selling club’, having fallen from their perch and proving unable to maintain consistency in the Premier League to convince the biggest names to stay for prolonged periods.
When Liverpool sold their superstars
It was only a year and a bit before Klopp arrived that Luis Suarez left Liverpool and signed for Barcelona in a £75m deal, having come within a whisker of the Premier League title in one of the all-time individual campaigns.
It wasn’t the first time the Anfield side had lost their prized asset after a fruitful period, with his predecessor Fernando Torres forcing his way to Chelsea in a British-record £50m move back in 2011.
Even deeper, the likes of Xabi Alonso and Javier Mascherano had left for Real Madrid and Barcelona respectively, unable to resist the call of Europe’s heaviest hitters.
But more recently, right before Klopp arrived at Anfield, Raheem Sterling was sold – and though a noxious thing at the time, it’s hard to argue that it wasn’t the right move with hindsight.
Why Liverpool struck gold selling Raheem Sterling
Sterling cut his teeth at Liverpool, making his professional debut for the Reds and completing 129 appearances before forcing his way out of the club for the burgeoning project at Manchester City for a £49m figure.
Man City
339
131
73
Liverpool
129
23
17
Chelsea
81
19
12
Arsenal
10
1
2
He joined one year before Pep Guardiola took English football by storm, forcing his way out with an official transfer request to become the most expensive Englishman of all time aged only 20 years old.
It was met with acrimony at Liverpool, there’s no doubting that. Steven Gerrard said that he was “disappointed” in the young winger, while Sky Sports pundit and Reds icon Jamie Carragher had previously revealed that he was angered by Sterling’s attitude, telling him to keep his mouth shut and “get on with playing football.”
Clearly, there was no love lost. Sterling will hardly regret the decision though, going on to win a wealth of silverware with the Citizens and being hailed as “an extraordinary player” by Guardiola.
His decline has been a steady and inexorable thing over the past several years, with Sterling leaving City for Chelsea in 2022 and only bagging 19 goals over 81 matches before being forced out by Enzo Maresca in the summer.
It would be negligent to forget about the seasons of dominance from Manchester City’s mercurial winger, to put up ridiculous numbers that rivalled the very best players on the planet.
But Sterling, perhaps, benefitted from a finely wrought system that eked out the best of his talents and more. He’s never been the most clinical finisher but rather a player of positional understanding and well worked movements, nifty and tricky.
His stint at Chelsea has indeed yielded middling results and the Three Lions star’s current loan spell has failed to give rise to the rebirth of his dynamic skills.
Given the unforgettable success that Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino achieved under Klopp’s wing, can Sterling’s sale be anything other than a bona fide triumph?
The domino effect might have been devastating for a Liverpool side that conquered Europe and the Premier League. Moreover, Sterling’s departure actually enabled the Reds to fork out £29m to sign the iconic Firmino.
While Sterling was a brilliant player in his heyday, would he really have ousted one of Mane or Salah, who were so deadly on either side of the Brazilian false nine? The trio had been described as “one of the best front threes of all time” by presenter Nubaid Haroon, after all.
And now, still only 30, Sterling is struggling to prove himself worthy of a regular role in Arsenal’s team, an unused substitute across five of the Gunners’ past eight Premier League fixtures, playing twice off the bench.
He was handed a 6/10 match rating by GOAL after a ‘lively’ display against Crystal Palace in the Carabao Cup, albeit missing a glorious chance to score. Given that he can’t cement a regular starting berth in Arsenal’s misfiring frontline, however, he’d hardly hit the ground running were he in Liverpool’s mix once again.
In fact, with just one goal across all competitions this season, he’s even being assuredly outscored by Darwin Nunez, whose strike on Wednesday night has lifted him to four goals from 21 matches this term, which still leaves something to be desired but is at least progress for the Uruguayan.
Whichever way you look at it, it’s hard to argue that Sterling would have been better off remaining at Liverpool, even if he did anger the likes of Gerrard and Carragher and more upon leaving.
Guardiola fashioned a talented youngster into something special, and while Klopp could have achieved similar heights with the Three Lions star, the German manager unlocked his own world-class triptych up top, and thus it was a well-banked transfer move in the end.
As well as Nunez: Liverpool ace who won 100% ground duels must not be sold
Liverpool beat Southampton to advance to the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup.
ByAngus Sinclair Dec 19, 2024