This is a really interesting point from Simon Hughes.
And, if I’m being honest, it’s something I’ve thought about for a while.
Fenway Sports Group have always operated in a world where financial sustainability matters.
Liverpool don’t simply spend money without thinking about the consequences.
That makes it even more difficult to understand how many important players have been allowed to walk away from Anfield for nothing — or for very little.
As Hughes points out, eight of the 14 players who featured for Liverpool in the 2019 Champions League final against Tottenham eventually left on a free transfer or for next to nothing.
That is quite staggering.
Where did the ruthlessness go?
Liverpool were once incredibly good at this.
They would identify when a player was approaching the end of his useful period, make the difficult decision and sell at the right time.
It wasn’t always popular.
But it was ruthless.
And it helped keep the squad evolving.
That’s part of what made Liverpool so successful under Jürgen Klopp.
The problem is that somewhere along the way, I think that ruthlessness disappeared.
The emotional attachment to the players who had delivered so much perhaps became too strong.
And I completely understand that.
How do you tell a player who has helped you win the Champions League, Premier League and countless other trophies that his time is up?
It’s incredibly difficult.
But football doesn’t stand still.
These players deserved the respect
This isn’t about criticising the players.
Far from it.
Sadio Mané was a Liverpool legend.
Roberto Firmino was a Liverpool legend.
Jordan Henderson lifted the Premier League and Champions League as captain.
James Milner was one of the most dependable players of the Klopp era.
Thiago, Fabinho, Virgil van Dijk, Mohamed Salah, Trent Alexander-Arnold and others all played enormous roles in Liverpool’s success.
These players deserved every bit of respect they received.
But respect and contract management are two different things.
Liverpool needed to think about what their value would be before they reached the final year of their contracts.
Salah is the obvious example
Mohamed Salah is probably the biggest example.
What made it worse is that they let him cut his contract short and let him leave on a free.
Liverpool ultimately allowed one of the greatest players in the club’s modern history to leave at the end of his contract.
There is an argument that keeping Salah was absolutely the correct decision because of what he continued to produce.
And I wouldn’t have wanted Liverpool to sell him cheaply simply for the sake of generating a fee.
But the wider point remains.
If Liverpool knew there was a possibility that Salah would eventually leave for nothing, could the club have handled the situation differently several years earlier?
That is the question.
Trent is another difficult one
Trent Alexander-Arnold was different because Liverpool did receive a relatively small transfer fee when he joined Real Madrid rather than losing him completely for nothing.
But for a player of his ability, age and importance, it still felt like Liverpool were left with very little leverage.
And that’s exactly the issue Hughes is getting at.
Liverpool have produced and developed some extraordinary players.
Yet the club hasn’t always maximised their value when those players eventually moved on.
Then there is the other side of the argument
I don’t think this is as simple as saying:
“Liverpool should have sold everyone earlier.”
That’s nonsense.
If Liverpool had sold Salah, Mané, Firmino, Henderson, Fabinho or others two years before they left, supporters would have been furious.
And rightly so.
These players were still helping Liverpool compete for major trophies.
You can’t constantly sell your best players simply because their transfer value might decline.
There has to be a balance between winning football matches today and protecting the club’s future.
That’s where I think Liverpool sometimes got the balance wrong.
The real problem was timing
For me, this is the biggest lesson.
Liverpool needed to be better at recognising when a player’s value was approaching its peak.
Not necessarily selling them immediately.
Not breaking up a winning team.
But having a succession plan.
If a player was entering the final two years of his contract, Liverpool should have known exactly what they wanted to do.
Extend?
Sell?
Replace?
Or accept that the player would leave for nothing because keeping him was more valuable to the team?
There should have been a clear strategy.
And Liverpool have paid for it
The consequences can now be seen in the squad.
Liverpool have had to spend enormous amounts of money rebuilding.
The club spent heavily on players such as Florian Wirtz, Alexander Isak and Bradley Barcola, with Richard Hughes overseeing a transfer spend reported at around £670m during his tenure.
That’s not necessarily a criticism of those signings.
Some could become Liverpool legends themselves.
But when you’re spending that sort of money while simultaneously losing established stars for little or nothing, you have to ask whether the squad-building model is working efficiently.
We need that ruthlessness back
This is where I agree with Simon Hughes.
Liverpool need to rediscover that cold-eyed ruthlessness.
Not just in the transfer market.
In contract negotiations.
In succession planning.
In deciding when a player has reached the end of his cycle.
And in making difficult decisions before they become unavoidable.
Because sentiment can’t be allowed to run a football club.
Legends can still leave at the right time
Liverpool supporters will always love the players who delivered the greatest moments of the Klopp era.
I certainly do.
But loving a player doesn’t mean Liverpool have to give them a five-year contract at the end of their career.
And appreciating what someone has done doesn’t mean the club should ignore their declining transfer value.
You can thank a legend and still make the right business decision.
That’s what Liverpool were so good at during their rise.
Somewhere along the line, that edge disappeared.
And perhaps that is one of the biggest things the club needs to restore now.
Liverpool need to be ruthless again
Richard Hughes has gone, and Liverpool are now looking for a new sporting director.
Whoever comes in has a huge job.
And I don’t just want someone who can spend £100m on a superstar.
I want someone who can look at the squad and say:
“This is the right time to sell.”
Even when the player is loved.
Even when supporters don’t want it.
Even when it is difficult.
Because that’s how you keep a squad evolving.
Liverpool built one of the greatest teams in Europe by making difficult decisions.
It’s time to find that ruthlessness again.
And this time, Liverpool cannot afford to lose millions in transfer value simply because they were too sentimental to make the hard call.
Jamie (The Kopite View)
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