Liverpool have quite the reputation when it comes to cashing in on players at the perfect time and could Mohamed Salah become the next player to join this list?
The Egyptian forward is still one of the best players in the world, but with only one year remaining on his contract, the summer could be the perfect time to sell – especially with so much interest from Saudi Arabia.
We’ve gone back through Liverpool’s recent history and have picked out eight players that the Reds cashed in on at the perfect time.
Philippe Coutinho
Liverpool fans were hurt to see him leave at the time, but banking over £100million for the Brazilian playmaker proved to be a masterstroke in the long run.
The Reds used the money they received from Coutinho to sign Virgil van Dijk and Alisson Becker and they haven’t looked back since.
In terms of Coutinho himself, he was never quite able to recapture that same spark in his post-Anfield career. These days you can find him playing in Qatar.
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Fernando Torres
“‘I couldn’t believe it,” Jamie Carragher told Sky Sports in 2020 when discussing the sale of Torres. “I knew we had kidded Chelsea. Those last 12 months, he was a shadow of his former self.
“For 18 months at Liverpool, he was the best striker in the world, and I think he had such a good record against Chelsea that obviously stuck in the owner’s mind.
“£50million was major money at that stage and we were all in a state of shock, we could not believe we had got £50million.”
Fabinho
For a good few years, Fabinho was considered one of the best holding midfielders in the world and for good reason. Especially during his first four years at the club, he was absolutely mustard.
However, by the time the 2022–23 season had rolled around, the Brazilian international had started to look unrecognisably leggy.
Once Al-Ittihad came in with a lucrative bid of £40million, Liverpool’s mind was already made up. Considering they only spent around £43.7million on him in the first place, the sale represented great value.
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Sadio Mane
Mane’s departure was tough to stomach at the time, but looking at his post-Liverpool career, the Reds probably made the right decision to sell him when they did.
The Senegalese forward struggled to adapt his game to the Bundesliga and it wasn’t long before he wound up in the Saudi Pro League. All things considered, Mane leaving in 2022 was probably the correct decision.
Rhian Brewster
The Liverpool academy graduate was tipped for big things in 2020, especially on the back of a prolific loan spell with Swansea City.
Fans at the time were keen to see Brewster being integrated into the senior squad, but once Sheffield United came in with a £23.5million offer, he was soon packing his bags.
Considering the 24-year-old has only scored four league goals since leaving Liverpool in 2020, the club definitely made the right decision to cash in when they did.
Christian Benteke
Given Benteke hardly pulled up many trees during his debut season, Liverpool did well to get their money back for the Belgian forward.
The Reds banked around £32million for the striker and signed Mane that same summer for £36million. All in all, a good deal for Liverpool.
Michael Owen
Owen was absolutely unplayable during his Liverpool days, but he never managed to reach the same heights in his post-Liverpool career.
The stats back that notion up too. During the eight years Owen spent at Liverpool, he scored 158 goals whereas in the remaining nine years of his career, he only bagged 48 goals.
To be fair, his stint at Real Madrid was nowhere near as disastrous as some people make out, but various injuries hampered Owen in his later years. Looking back on his career, Liverpool definitely cashed in at the right time.
Jordan Henderson
Liverpool banked £12million for Henderson last summer. All for the former Liverpool captain to spend just six months with Al-Ettifaq before having his contract terminated by mutual consent.
The Reds must have been laughing all the way to the bank when Steven Gerrard’s side came in with that sort of offer.
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