The History of Liverpool’s Record Transfer Fee: Wirtz Deal Hits New Heights

In a season full of new highs, Liverpool have broken the transfer record for a fee paid by a Premier League club.

They will shell out a cool £116 million for Florian Wirtz, with only Philippe Coutinho’s switch from Anfield to Barcelona commanding a higher fee in a deal involving a Premier League side.

By extension, the capture of the German playmaker is also a record fee paid by Liverpool, so Wirtz clearly has big boots to fill.

Here’s how the club’s record transfer fee has evolved over the years…

Peter Beardsley: The Million Pound Man

Of course, a club that dates back to the 1800s has broken its own transfer record countless times.

But the million-pound mark was a major milestone, with Peter Beardsley the man that will forever be known as Liverpool’s first seven figure signing in 1987 (at £1.9 million, to be exact, which was then a British record fee).

🎂 Wishing former Red Peter Beardsley a very happy birthday! 🎉 pic.twitter.com/GxhOYWjtZT

— Liverpool FC (@LFC) January 18, 2017

And what a capture he was. The former Newcastle United player reached 20 or more goal involvements in each of his four seasons at Anfield, forming a stellar partnership with Ian Rush.

That era of Liverpool FC saw two league titles and an FA Cup won, with Beardsley key to that success.

Stan Collymore: £5 Million+

The next milestone reached was £5 million, although Stan Collymore’s switch from Nottingham Forest in the summer of 1995 would ultimately command an £8.5 million fee.

It would prove to be money well spent, with Collymore blitzing 35 goals in 81 games and earning an England call-up.

Although his stint at Anfield was not without issues, Collymore was a fascinating player to watch – few will forget his winner in Liverpool’s 4-3 win over Newcastle back in 1996, which is regularly voted as the Premier League’s greatest ever game.

Emile Heskey: £10 Million+

A divisive figure heralded Liverpool’s first £10 million signing.

On his day, Emile Heskey was unplayable – a strong, quick, skilful direct runner who gave defenders nightmares.

But that day didn’t come often enough in a red shirt, with Heskey averaging a goal roughly every four games for the club.

Heskey, signed from Leicester City for £11 million in March 2000, did play a part in Liverpool’s unique treble-winning season of 2000/01, when the club landed the FA Cup, League Cup and UEFA Cup.

Fernando Torres: £20 Million+

Well, nobody can say that Liverpool didn’t get full value from their first player that crossed the £20 million threshold.

Fernando Torres scored 33 goals in his first season after switching from Atletico Madrid in July 2007, before plundering 48 more in a stellar four-year stint at the club.

The real tragedy was that he never won a trophy at the club, which is perhaps why he decided to swap Merseyside for London when joining Chelsea in January 2011 for £50 million.

Even so, Torres has to be recognised as one of the best out-and-out strikers for Liverpool in the modern era.

Virgil van Dijk: £50 Million+

It’s true that Liverpool broke their transfer record when signing Mo Salah in June 2017, but the actual fee involved in his switch from Roma was £43.9 million… add-ons and bonuses took it past the £50 million mark.

And so it was Virgil van Dijk, who put pen to paper on a move to Liverpool from Southampton in January 2018, that would be the first Reds signing to surpass the £50 million mark – his actual fee would be a cool £75 million.

That would raise eyebrows, given that it’s rare for defenders to change hands for such an exorbitant sum. But it would be fair to say that Van Dijk, recognised as one of the best centre backs in Premier League history, has repaid his fee and then some.

Alongside his classy defending, the Dutchman has popped up with key goals and been an outstanding leader – lifting the Premier League trophy twice and the Champions League too.

Florian Wirtz: £100 Million+

So here we are: Florian Wirtz is the first £100 million player in Liverpool’s history.

If he can have as much of an impact as some of the names on this list have at Anfield then he can at least start to pay back some of that mind-boggling sum.

“I won’t have to talk much, just watch him. He doesn’t crumble under pressure, he likes pressure. He’s a guy that makes you enjoy football with the way he plays.”

Those are the words of Jeremie Frimpong, Wirtz’s teammate at Bayer Leverkusen who has since joined him at Anfield. When we update this article with Liverpool’s first £150 million signing in the near future, will we write as effusively about the German?