Liverpool's Rp 9.3 Trillion Player Shopping Tactics

Liverpool is a major player in the 2025 summer transfer market, with a total spending of IDR 9.3 trillion excluding add-ons. This value is equivalent to seven times the valuation of all BRI Indonesian Super League clubs. Despite splashing out fantastic funds, last season's Premier League champions were able to escape the clutches of Financial Fair Play (FFF) and align with Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR) regulations. This is due to the contents of "The Reds" accounts, as well as accounting creativity, including amortization (write-off) of player transfer values.

In this transfer market, Liverpool has brought in Jeremie Frimpong, Milos Kerkez, Hugo Ekitike, Florian Wirtz, and Alexander Isak. The last two players are valued at 269 million euros, approximately IDR 5.1 trillion.

Isak, who officially joined Liverpool just before the transfer window closed on September 1, 2025, became the most expensive player in the English Premier League, with a transfer fee of Rp 2.8 trillion. Isak broke the previous record held by Wirtz, for whom The Reds paid Rp 2.4 trillion to Bayer Leverkusen.

Liverpool's massive spending spree is driven by the club owner's grand mission, Fenway Sport Group, to build a dynasty in the English Premier League and the Champions League. They have decided that now is the right time to invest money in the transfer market.

However, this massive player spending has been carefully calculated, ensuring that the club's financial balance sheet is not in the red and violates UEFA's Financial Fair Play regulations. This calculation is complex, as two regulations must be met to maintain healthy club books. In addition to the FFF, Premier League clubs must also comply with domestic Profit and Sustainability Rules.

The PSR essentially regulates the maximum losses that a club may incur over a three-season period. This may seem straightforward, but there are numerous complex provisions governing financial balance. Simply put, a club is allowed to incur a maximum loss of 105 million pounds, approximately Rp 2.3 trillion, over a three-year accounting period. This means that each club may incur a loss of 35 million pounds (Rp 771.7 billion) each accounting year. For newly promoted teams, the allowable loss is limited to 13 million pounds, or Rp 286.7 billion per year.

Although the average annual loss may be 35 million pounds, the club can experience greater losses in a single year, considering their financial balance over the previous three seasons. For instance, in the first year, the club lost 20 million pounds, then in the second year, a loss of 10 million pounds, and in the third year, they could incur losses of up to 75 million pounds.

The calculation of these losses applies to expenditures such as transfers, player salaries, and compensation for dismissed coaches. The financial balance also includes income from television broadcasting rights, match ticket sales, sponsorships, and profits from player sales.

The profit from the sale of this player is quite complex, as clubs do not always gain direct profit from the sale of certain players. This is related to the amortization clause in the PSR, where the purchase value of a player can be evenly distributed over the duration of the contract.

For example, player A is purchased for 30 million pounds with a duration of three years, then the transfer value of A will be divided into 10 million pounds over the three-year contract. If during the same transfer period, the related club sells its academy player for 30 million pounds, then the club will gain a profit of 20 million pounds in the first year of accounting. Thus, this profit is not about liquidity, as PSR is more about understanding the financial health of the club.

This amortization can only be a maximum of five years, starting in 2023, to ensure fair competition. In Isak's transfer, which runs until 2031, or six seasons, the transfer fee is split over five seasons, amounting to 560 billion rupiah each year. However, calculating the club's financial health is much more complicated, as Liverpool also has Isak's salary, which reaches 300,000 pounds per week, or approximately 6.5 billion rupiah.

Liverpool's wage burden is substantial. According to Deloitte's Annual Review of Football Finance 2025 report, Liverpool's wage burden-to-revenue ratio reached 63 percent in the 13 months to June 30, 2024. Wage burden reached £386 million (Rp 8.5 trillion), with revenue of £614 million (Rp 13.5 trillion).

The Premier League's tight financial constraints haven't prevented Liverpool from spending big this season, as their accounts are substantial and their PSR is relatively high. The Athletic analyzed that Liverpool could lose up to £75 million in PSR terms, considering their performance on the pitch and in business last season. This gives Liverpool ample room to plan their player spending.

Another key factor for Liverpool to be able to spend without violating regulations is their substantial revenue from player sales, television broadcasting rights, bonuses for winning the Premier League and participating in the Champions League, match ticket sales, merchandise sales, and sponsorships.

In this summer's transfer market, according to Transfermarkt data, Liverpool earned up to 219.5 million euros, or around Rp 4.2 trillion, from the sales of eight players, including Luis Diaz, Darwin Nunez, and Jarell Quansah. This does not include the loans of four players, including attacking midfielder Harvey Elliot, who was loaned to Aston Villa, with an obligation to purchase worth Rp 770.3 billion. As a result of these player sales, Liverpool's net expenditure has dropped significantly, to Rp 5.1 trillion.

Liverpool also received fresh funds from the Premier League for broadcasting and commercial rights for the 2024/2025 season, amounting to £174.9 million, or approximately Rp 3.9 trillion. Furthermore, the new sponsorship deal with Adidas is believed to be worth £60 million per season, or approximately Rp 1.3 trillion. In fact, The Athletic estimates the contract value with Adidas to be much higher. Another source of revenue for Liverpool is merchandise sales, which reached £146 million, or approximately Rp 3.2 trillion.

Liverpool's opinion strengthens their financial condition after the 2024/2025 season, having only acquired two players: goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili, who just joined this summer, and winger Federico Chiesa. The total value of both players is 42 million euros (Rp 802 billion).

Liverpool's financial condition is also solid following the official report from The Reds, which indicated that they achieved an income of £614 million, approximately Rp13.5 trillion, in the 2023-2024 season. During that season, Liverpool did experience a pre-tax loss of £57 million; however, their performance last season is believed to have kept their financial condition healthy in the context of FFP and PSR. This situation allows Liverpool to maneuver freely in this summer's transfer market.

The transfer window has now closed, and Liverpool's current challenge is to maximize their star-studded squad to defend their English Premier League title and pursue glory in the Champions League. The spotlight is now on Arne Slot, who is hoped by Liverpool fans to bring excitement every weekend.