A very different football village

At the last minute of the transfer market, Crystal Palace decided to cancel the sale of Marc Guehi to Liverpool because they could not find a replacement. However, Liverpool still created a historic summer.

Florian Wirtz is one of three "blockbuster" deals for Liverpool this summer - Photo: REUTERS

With Guehi, Liverpool's spending for the 2025 summer market will exceed 500 million euros - a staggering figure.

Liverpool are more willing to spend than Chelsea

Having failed to complete the deal to buy the Crystal Palace midfielder, Isak became Liverpool's last new signing. And Liverpool's transfer spending this summer stopped at 483.7 million euros.

But the above figure does not include Mamardashvili - who was bought last summer for 30 million euros, then loaned back to Valencia for 1 year. It was not until this summer that Liverpool officially welcomed the Georgian goalkeeper to Anfield.

If this deal is counted this year, Liverpool will have spent more than 500 million euros. However, with 483.7 million euros, Liverpool has also surpassed the record spending in a transfer season set by Chelsea in the summer of 2024 with 464 million euros.

But that is Chelsea, which has always been labeled as "rich". Even after changing ownership from billionaire Roman Abramovich to billionaire Todd Boehly, Chelsea still has the habit of spending money like water in the transfer market. It is important to know that this is a habit that is appropriate to the social form and not only comes from rich owners.

Over the decades, Chelsea have developed a coldly professional working habit. Every season they buy a lot and sell a lot. And anyone who doesn't fit in is pushed out after 1-2 years to make way for the new.

Chelsea even buy countless young players in the U18 age group, then loan them out all over the place. If these young players do not develop their promising potential, they will have to leave again.

On the contrary, Liverpool is a football team with a tradition and identity closely linked to the working class of England's largest port city. They often uphold the ideals of fighting, being enthusiastic, loyal and popular.

So when coach Jurgen Klopp with his "rock metal" football philosophy set foot in Anfield, he was warmly welcomed, completely blending into Liverpool culture.

Throughout Klopp's nine years in charge, "bloody spirit" and "emotion" have been two key factors. Therefore, the German strategist has always retained many players who are considered no longer suitable for Liverpool's development, such as Henderson, Gomez...

Why did Klopp leave?

But with Klopp gone, Liverpool are starting to change. This summer, despite the devastating loss of Diogo Jota, they still decided to let go of famous players like Nunez and Diaz. And also players from the team's youth academy like Elliott and Quansah... The reason? Liverpool want better players.

There is Isak - a top striker, replacing Nunez. Or Ekitike, a different version of Diaz, promising a lot of potential. And Wirtz - one of the best attacking midfielders in the world right now, whom Elliott cannot compare to.

Despite the high cost of the transfer, Liverpool's leadership has still managed to steer the transfer market skillfully. Although they earned more than 220 million euros in the summer transfer window, that still did not cover half of the expenses.

Liverpool's net spend (the amount spent minus the income) is 300 million euros this summer. It's worth noting that in 9 years under Klopp, Liverpool only spent 420 million euros - ranking 8th in the Premier League in terms of net spend.

The 3 "blockbuster" deals of Isak - Wirtz - Ekitike alone cost Liverpool more than 350 million euros. During Klopp's time, Liverpool also made "blockbuster" transfers but never with a frequency of 3 deals/year.

Everything has changed, changed in just over a year since Klopp left. All Liverpool fans, the team's leadership, and coach Arne Slot are grateful to the German strategist because without his talent for nurturing and building, Liverpool would not have been so financially abundant.

But from there, fans realized the reason Klopp left Anfield, when his team was at its richest and most prosperous state. Klopp realized that he was no longer suitable for modern football, with the changes of the team he loved.

Football village is bustling on the last day

As expected, English clubs were very active on the last day of the transfer market, which ended in the early morning of September 2 (Vietnam time). Specifically, Newcastle brought in another quality striker, Wissa (replacing Isak) for 60 million euros. Man City also bought superstar goalkeeper Donnarumma from PSG, and sold Ederson to Fenerbahce.

Chelsea successfully pushed Nicolas Jackson away. Meanwhile, Man United were the most active when they successfully pushed Antony (to Real Betis), Sancho (to Aston Villa) and Hojlund (to Napoli), and also welcomed goalkeeper Lammens from Antwerp.

HUY DANG

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/mot-lang-bong-da-rat-khac-20250903104947856.htm