Ahead of the imminent arrival at Liverpool of Bournemouth’s Milos Kerkez, there are internal fears at Anfield that the proceeds of Philippe Coutinho’s sale to Barcelona in 2018 are close to exhaustion.
The Hungarian left-back’s incoming £40m transfer follows a blockbuster spending spree this window, with £116m splashed on Florian Wirtz, £30m for Jeremie Frimpong, and £29m for Giorgi Mamardashvili, pushing the summer outlay past £215m. Yet, a vocal contingent of Liverpool fans on X insists the club’s transfer war chest—stuffed with the Brazilian’s contentious £142m departure to the Catalan giants—remains the magical fuel behind every deal since, a claim that’s equal parts audacious and absurd.
Since Coutinho’s exit in January 2018, Liverpool have reportedly spent over £850m on players, from Virgil van Dijk’s £75m arrival to this month’s Wirtz heist, transforming Anfield into a fortress under Jürgen Klopp and now Arne Slot. Despite sales like Trent Alexander-Arnold (£8.5m) and Caoimhin Kelleher (£18m) softening the blow, the net spend has soared, leaving insiders wondering how long this Coutinho cash myth can stretch. The Reds’ faithful, however, are undeterred, with one fan declaring on X, “We are net spend champions, don’t you know,” before adding, “So, technically, we won the double last season.”
The arithmetic raises eyebrows: Wirtz’s £116m record, Frimpong’s £30m, Mamardashvili’s £29m, and now Kerkez’s £40m—all in June alone—dwarf the original £142m windfall. Yet the Kop’s lore holds firm, with supporters weaving a financial fairy tale that the Brazilian’s sale still bankrolls every move, from Van Dijk’s heroics to Slot’s squad overhaul. Bookies are already taking odds on whether FSG will unveil a Coutinho-funded statue next, with one Man United fan quipping, “They’ll claim he’s paying the VAR officials next.”
