Throughout their barren decades in the 1990s and 2000s, Liverpool were often ridiculed as a club living in the past.
With success on the pitch proving frustratingly elusive, reflecting on the glory days was all there was left at Anfield.
There were, of course, notable exceptions. The Reds won the FA Cup, League Cup and UEFA Cup - the precursor to the Europa League - under Gerard Houllier in 2001 and lifted the second of those trophies again in 2003.
Two years later, under Rafael Benitez Liverpool won the Champions League in the most dramatic of circumstances, beating AC Milan on penalties after trailing 3-0 at half-time. Another FA Cup followed a year later, again on penalties and again after a late comeback.
But those exceptions were exactly that, exceptions. After winning the old First Division in 1990 for the 18th time, Liverpool came second just five times in the next three decades, until they finally got their hands on the league title again in 2020.
Nostalgia has since been replaced by success, with trophies coming almost as regularly as they did during the club’s dominant run in the 1970s and 1980s.
The Premier League title the Reds lifted in May was their eighth major trophy since they won the Champions League in 2019 under Jurgen Klopp.
The current iteration of Liverpool is very much a team living in the present and planning for the future, as underlined by the signing of Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen last week.
Florian Wirtz is a statement signing for Liverpool
LEVERKUSEN, GERMANY - MAY 18: Florian Wirtz of Bayer Leverkusen lifts the Meisterschale of ... More Bundesliga trophy after their team's victory in the Bundesliga match between Bayer 04 Leverkusen and FC Augsburg at BayArena on May 18, 2024 in Leverkusen, Germany. (Photo by Stuart Franklin/Getty Images)Getty Images
At up to £116m ($158m) - £100m in transfer fee with a potential £16m in add-ons - the German is both a club record signing and the most expensive player ever signed by a British club, beating the record set by Chelsea’s deal for Moises Caicedo two years ago.
The price tag is unlikely to face Wirtz, who has dealt with attention from the moment he became the youngest player in Leverkusen’s history aged 17. Less than a month later, he wrote his name in the history books as the club’s youngest goalscorer.
By the time Leverkusen won their maiden German title 12 months ago after going unbeaten in the Bundesliga, Wirtz was a pillar of Xabi Alonso’s side, which also won the German Cup and reached the Europa League final.
Wirtz was named Bundesliga player of the season for the 2023-24 season, after scoring 18 goals and registering 20 assists in 49 matches in all competitions.
Last season, he scored 16 goals and registered 15 assists in 45 games as Leverkusen finished second to Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga and were knocked out in the Round of 16 of the Champions League.
“I feel very happy and very proud. Finally it’s done and I was waiting for a long time,” Wirtz told Liverpool’s website.
“I’m really excited to have a new adventure in front of me. This was also a big point of my thoughts: that I want to have something completely new, to go out of the Bundesliga and to join the Premier League.
“I will see how I can perform. I hope I can do my best. I spoke also with some players who played [at Liverpool] and they told me that it’s perfect for me and every pitch is perfect, you can enjoy every game. I’m really looking forward to playing my first game.
“I would like to win everything every year. First of all, we have to do our work, I have to make my work. In the end, we want to be successful.
"Last season they won the Premier League so my goal is for sure to win it again and also to go further in the Champions League. I’m really ambitious.”
A modern No10, the Germany international is a high-intensity player and should fit seamlessly into Arne Slot’s brand of fast, attacking football.
Liverpool remained over-reliant on Mohamed Salah last season, but Wirtz’s arrival will immediately upgrade their front three and broaden the range of options at Slot’s disposal.
The German’s arrival also underlines a significant change in dynamic for Liverpool, who have been outside of the top 10 spenders on player signings in the Premier League since 2019.
Salah, Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino and Alexis MacAllister have all proved hugely successful buys, but they all fell in the “Moneyball” category, albeit to various degrees.
The Reds last spent big on elite players seven years ago when Virgil van Dijk signed for Southampton for £75m in January 2018, with Alisson arriving from Roma for £65m seven months later.
Both signings proved to be transformative and Slot will hope Wirtz can have a similar impact.
A busy summer for Liverpool
KIRKBY, ENGLAND - MAY 30: Jeremie Frimpong new signing of Liverpool at AXA Training Centre on May ... More 30, 2025 in Kirkby, England. (Photo by Nikki Dyer - LFC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)Liverpool FC via Getty Images
The 22-year-old’s arrival on his own would be a major statement of intent from the reigning Premier League champions, but even more so coming alongside the signings of fellow Bayer Leverkusen wing-back Jeremie Frimpong and Bournemouth left-back Milos Kerkez.
Liverpool activated Frimpong’s £29.6m release clause and have reached an agreement with the Cherries to sign Kerkez for around £40m.
The Hungary international has established himself as one of the best defenders in the Premier League after joining Bournemouth from Dutch side AZ Alkmaar for £15m two years ago.
Kerkez made 67 appearances for the Cherries in two seasons and started all of his team’s 38 league fixtures last term, scoring six goals and providing two assists.
Like Wirtz, Frimpong was a key player for Leverkusen under Alonso, scoring 30 goals and recording 44 assists in 190 appearances in all competitions after joining the Bundesliga side from Celtic in January of 2021.
The Dutch international is expected to be a direct replacement for Trent Alexander-Arnold, who joined Real Madrid ahead of the Club World Cup.
Federico Chiesa was the Reds’ only major signing last summer, along with Valencia goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili, who stayed with the LaLiga club for another season.
Slot, however, made clear he wanted the club to build on the Premier League title.
"It will be just as tough or even tougher next season because the clubs we've competed with this season have always invested a lot of money and they will probably do so this summer as well," he said in May.
"We just want good players. Ideally you sign them as soon as you can but it is not always easy."
Next May, it will be 42 years since Liverpool last retained the title, claiming the old First Division for the third time in a row.
Defend their crown successfully and they will move one clear of Manchester United and onto a record 21 league titles.
History, at long last, appears to be again a source of inspiration rather than a burden at Anfield.