Liverpool have £171m transfer bonus not even Manchester United can match

Liverpool have £171m transfer bonus not even Manchester United can match

Liverpool have been among the top earners regards Academy sales in the Premier League over the last decade

SHARE
ByIan DoyleChief Liverpool FC Writer
05:00, 17 JAN 2024
Bookmark
Trent Alexander-Arnold and Curtis Jones of Liverpool
Trent Alexander-Arnold and Curtis Jones of Liverpool (Image: Nick Taylor/Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)

And then there were two. The departure of Paul Glatzel to League Two side Swindon Town may not have been the most eye-catching January transfer for Liverpool, but it did mark the further severing of ties with the Reds’ last successful FA Youth Cup side.

Glatzel had scored the winning penalty in May 2019 as Manchester City were beaten on spot-kicks after a dramatic 1-1 draw. Now, less than five years later, only Vitezslav Jaros and Rhys Williams remain, both currently out on loan with only the latter having broken into the first team at Liverpool, although his last appearance was way back in May 2021.

The remainder of the players involved have had wildly contrasting fortunes since, ranging from Neco Williams and Yasser Larouci now featuring in the Premier League with Nottingham Forest and Sheffield United respectively to Fidel O’Rourke and Bobby Duncan, scorer of Liverpool’s equaliser against City, being without a club.

Liverpool made around £20million from sales of that Youth Cup-winning team, the vast majority comprised of the £17m Forest paid for Williams 18 months ago. And the difficulties of gaining sizeable fees for often largely unproven talent – no matter what the obvious potential – can be evidenced by scrutiny of the beaten City squad that evening.

READ MORE: Alisson Becker snub cannot disguise obvious truth about Liverpool goalkeeper

READ MORE: Gary Neville has a Liverpool blind spot and needs to get a grip – for his own sake

MOST READ
1
I left Liverpool to join Real Madrid after transfer decision I couldn’t understand
2
Liverpool must agree three marquee deals to avoid anxious transfer wait
3
FSG must leave decision in Jurgen Klopp hands as major question confronts Liverpool boss
The Etihad side have accrued just over £52m from sales from their squad, with almost the entire total consisting of Cole Palmer (£40m) and goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu (£12m). Jeremie Frimpong, now much sought-after at Bayer Leverkusen, left for Celtic for less than £400,000, while Felix Nchema (now at Borussia Dortmund) and Eric Garcia (on loan at Spanish league leaders Girona from Barcelona) departed for nothing. City, though, have placed buy options on Taylor Harwood-Bellis (£20m) and Tommy Doyle (£4.3m) should their respective loan moves at Southampton and Wolves become permanent.

The advantages City’s huge financial clout can offer go some way to explaining why their Academy has been one of the most profitable in world football over the last decade, despite not having the same pressure to sell as almost any other club.

And the boffins at the CIES Football Observatory have calculated Liverpool have generated the fifth-highest revenue from their Academy among English clubs over the same period, a total of £171m that sees them scrape into the overall top 20.

Leading the way by some distance are Benfica on £443m, with Ajax next on £323m and Lyon third with £318m. Intriguingly, Real Madrid are next on £313m, with Chelsea the highest-placed Premier League team in fifth on £298m, a whopping 88% of which was brought in during the last five years when first FFP regulations and later the scattergun lavish spending of owner Todd Boehly have forced them to shift a considerable number of players.

The sales of the other two English teams above Liverpool in the rankings, Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa, have been bumped up considerably in recent years by the £100m departures of Harry Kane and Jack Grealish respectively.

Liverpool’s sales have by contrast been consistent, their last five years totalling 46% of the overall 10-year total. And, compared to Tottenham and Villa, they have been in a better position to keep hold of the best of their homegrown talent. Were, for example, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Curtis Jones, Caoimhin Kelleher and breakthrough stars Jarell Quansah and Conor Bradley moved on, their Academy revenue would rocket exponentially. The £23.5m deal struck with Sheffield United for Rhian Brewster remains the most profitable sale of an Academy player in recent times.

Loan spells away from Liverpool can often be a shop window to assess the true value of younger players. However, as has been witnessed with a succession of such agreements being terminated early this month, it is not an exact science. Sometimes values can diminish rather than increase.

Furthermore, football is cyclical and there can be periods when young talent doesn’t emerge in certain regions or at particular clubs. For example, City’s power has hampered neighbours United, so often the standard bearer for homegrown talent. United’s Academy sales over the last decade register an income of £150m, seventh in the English rankings.

And a more local example would be how Everton were once regarded the better choice for youngsters to be given first-team opportunities, only for the balance to tilt towards Liverpool given Jurgen Klopp’s willingness to utilise the Academy, which has been further increased with the first team moving to the same site in recent years.

Of course, part of the money generated by sales of young talent helps maintain and improve the Liverpool Academy itself, for whom strict budgets are set. Preparing players for the first team, though, remains the priority – even if ensuring a steady revenue stream can benefit both present and future generations.

READ NEXT:

I left Liverpool to join Real Madrid after transfer decision I couldn’t understand
Liverpool must agree three marquee deals to avoid anxious transfer wait
ITV Coronation Street’s Bill Ward on ‘interesting’ thing he notices every time he comes to Liverpool
I picked 6 best sale items from Michelle Keegan’s Very range including gilets, dresses & more
FSG must leave decision in Jurgen Klopp hands as major question confronts Liverpool boss
Follow Liverpool Echo
Facebook
Twitter
Comment
Loading…
MORE ON
Liverpool FC
Up Next

I left Liverpool to join Real Madrid after transfer decision I couldn’t understand
SPORT
ALL
TOP STORIES
30 photos show the final days at these lost Merseyside factories
HISTORY
Huyton nursing home evacuated after methane gas leak
HUYTON
Pub that offers regulars more than just a pint
LIVERPOOL PUBS
Live-event
Liverpool transfer news LIVE – Kylian Mbappe verdict, Levi Colwill interest, Bruno Guimaraes latest
LIVERPOOL FC
Helpless students are without water or electricity for 24 hours
LIVERPOOL STUDENT
Community ‘gutted’ after controversial cameras that fined thousands allowed to stay
LISCARD
Met Office weather map shows when Merseyside can expect more snow this week
WEATHER
Merseyrail services disrupted as rail replacement buses requested
MERSEYRAIL
Police search wasteland by torchlight before man arrested at property
CRIME
Howard Webb admits Liverpool mistake on controversial Martin Odegaard Arsenal incident
LIVERPOOL FC
Everton FFP breach LIVE – Points deduction threat, club appeal latest, Richard Masters speaks
EVERTON FC
Heavy snow falls across Merseyside – live updates
WEATHER
NEWS
WHAT’S ON
SPORT
IN YOUR AREA
LIVERPOOL FC
EVERTON FC
CELEBS
BUSINESS
FOLLOW US
InYourArea
mynewsassistant
Discount Codes
Beauty Box Subscription
Marketplace
Our RSS feeds
Contact Us
About Us
Work for us
Advertise with us
Public Notices
Mirror Bingo
Buy a photo
How to Complain
Corrections & Clarifications
Terms & Conditions
Privacy Notice
Cookie Notice
Newsletters Signup
Syndication & Licensing
Do not sell or share my data
© 2024 a Reach plc subsidiary
Xxx