2004: Xabi Alonso – £10.5m (£14.8m today)
The Spaniard formed a memorable midfield partnership with Steven Gerrard during his time at the club, with the pair helping us win both the Champions League and the FA Cup, as well as the Community Shield and the UEFA Super Cup. Only the league title alluded him, while he made us a tidy profit when he joined Real Madrid in 2009.
2007: Fernando Torres – £20m (£26m today)
Rafael Benitez was crying out for a prolific striker to lead the line for his new look Liverpool, and he found exactly that in El Nino, who scored 81 goals in just 142 games for the club. Unfortunately, he’s never been able to rediscover that form since leaving Anfield – although we still scored a sizeable transfer fee when he left in 2011.
Luis Suarez – £22.8m (£26.1m today)
Torres’ replacement proved to be an even more formidable player, scoring 82 goals in 133 appearances. He won the PFA Player of the Year award in 2014, as he inspired us to our best Premier League finish in half a decade, and his energy, work-rate and incredible ability to take his chances made the former Ajax man a firm fan favourite.
Raheem Sterling – £500,000 (£600,000 today)
If you thought the amount of money we made off the back of the last three players was impressive, it’s worth remembering that we sold this particular individual for an almighty £49m this summer. The youngster won the Golden Boy award while at Liverpool, having scored 23 goals in 129 games, but won’t be hugely missed.
