Liverpool and Manchester United have both begun to make moves this summer but the transfer fee is far from the only cost involved for Jürgen Klopp and Erik ten Hag.
As each transfer takes place across the Premier League this summer, the actual amount of money that is being committed is somewhat hidden by the advertised transfer fee.
Last summer, for example, Erling Haaland cost a significant amount more than the $81m (£64m/€75m) release clause that Manchester City triggered when wages and agent’s fees are factored in.
Even more modest moves are a lot more costly than simply the transfer fee. Dominik Szoboszlai’s release clause was $77m (£61m/€70m) but with his salary over a five-year contract, Liverpool will have spent much more than that.
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Liverpool has often signed players who are on the verge of becoming superstars under FSG, with the plan being to bring them in on smaller wages and then slowly build them up as they progress
Sadio Mané, for instance, was brought in 2016 before being given a wage bump in 2018 as a reward. He still had a year left on his deal when Liverpool sold him. Mohamed Salah was the one that got the third wage increase and the extended contract
It has been the same kind of strategy this summer. Liverpool has so far brought in Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister, who the ECHO reports will both earn in the region of $150,000 per week, which is much lower than the sums that other clubs are willing to commit.
Mason Mount, for instance, has signed for Manchester United this week, penning a contract worth more than $300,000 per week. Across a five-year deal, that equates to a difference of around $32m between, say, Mount and Szoboszlai.
An exception was made by Liverpool for the signing of Thiago Alcântara, but the former Bayern Munich man cost a relatively low transfer fee (less than half what Mount has cost Manchester United) and so the overall cost of his addition was smaller
The rest of the transfers that have been brought in have been for relatively modest wages compared to what is on offer elsewhere. Only last year did Salah move into the same ballpark as players like Jadon Sancho and Kai Havertz, for example. Generally, players start lower down and work their way up the ladder
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