Comparing Manchester United and Liverpool net spending since Klopp arrived, 2015

Manchester United and Liverpool are two of the powerhouses in English football both trophy-wise and financially. Playing in the Premier League has given them absolute resources to spend money on players and make a competitive squad.

United are known for spending huge amounts of money, but their inconsistent transfer policy has meant that their huge squad is overpaid and underperforming.

Liverpool have leapfrogged their rivals since Klopp arrived at Anfield, in part thanks to the club's more careful transfer decisions.

Liverpool clinched the Champions League in 2018-19 with a squad that included clever acquisitions like Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane and then went on to finally win their first Premier League the following season.

They then suffered with injuries in 2020-21 but came storming back last season, winning the FA Cup and League Cup, as well as making it to the Champions League final and taking the Premier League race to the final day.

This summer, they have strengthened again, bringing in Darwin Nunez from Benfica as their flagship signing. But Klopp has also lost a heavy hitter in Mane.

Meanwhile, United have managed to get some considerable wages off the book in 2022, but they've also spent big money on arrivals, with £63.5million man Casemiro the latest through the door.

United have been criticised for an apparently scattergun approach to the transfer market – for example, they went after Frenkie de Jong and Adrien Rabiot before pursuing Casemiro – but new manager Erik ten Hag recently spoke about how they select transfer targets.

Ten Hag told United's official site: "It starts with the basic stuff. reliable, have drive, have the motivation – highly motivated.

"You want to fight and you bring it every day on the training pitch. You want to strengthen the squad. You are a unified club, a unified team and, most of all, you are prepared to win."

Just how Ten Hag's summer signings – Casemiro, plus Christian Eriksen, Lisandro Martinez and Tyrell Malacia – perform over the full season, though, we will have to wait and see.

But what about the difference in transfer spending between United and Liverpool in recent years?

We've had a look at the figures from Transfermarkt and picked out the five biggest purchases and five biggest sales for both clubs since Klopp arrived in October 2015, as well as figured out the net spend for both clubs.

Manchester United and Liverpool: Net Spend since 2015

Liverpool:

Five Biggest Purchases
1. Virgil van Dijk – £76.19milion
2. Darwin Nunez – £67.5million
3. Alisson – £56.25million
4. Naby Keita – £54.00million
5. Luis Diaz – £42.30million

Five Biggest Sales
1. Philippe Coutinho – £121.50million
2. Sadio Mane – £28.80million
3. Christian Benteke – £28.08million
4. Mamadou Sakho – £25.38million
5. Danny Ings – £22.59million

Total Spent: £637.81million
Total Sold: £438.84million

Total Net Spend: £198.97million

Manchester United:

Five Biggest Purchases
1. Paul Pogba – £94.50million
2. Harry Maguire – £78.30million
3. Jadon Sancho – £76.5million
4. Romelu Lukaku – £76.23million
5. Casemiro – £63.59million

Five Biggest Sales
1. Romelu Lukaku – £66.60million
2. Henrikh Mkhitaryan – £30.60million
3. Daniel James – £26.19million
4. Morgan Schniderlin – £20.70million
=5. Memphis Depay – £14.40million
=5. Daley Blind – £14.40million

Total Spent: £960.95million
Total Sold: £237.77million

Total Net Spend: £723.18million