Liverpool have an excellent reputation when it comes to selling players for a profit in the transfer market, but there have been some notable exceptions over the years.
While the Reds tend to get things spot on when it comes to transfers, they have made there fair share of blunders too.
Here are seven players that Liverpool have sold for a loss over the years.
Darwin Nunez
Following a mixed three years at Anfield, Liverpool decided to cut their losses with Nunez and sell him to Al-Hilal for a loss.
The Reds purchased the striker from Benfica in 2022 for a base fee of £64million, which could rise to £85million with add-ons.
He scored 40 goals in 143 appearances for the club and while he had his moments, he never really lived up to his lucrative price tag.
His sale this summer seemed inevitable, especially after Liverpool completed a deal for Eintracht Frankfurt’s Hugo Ekitike.
Liverpool have banked around £46million from selling Nunez, which is a considerable loss considering what they initially paid.
Andy Carroll
Another striker that Liverpool had to take a significant loss on was Carroll.
The target man joined the Reds in January 2011 for a then club-record fee of £35million.
However, despite his sizeable price-tag, Carroll struggled to justify his worth at Anfield and only scored 11 goals for the club before leaving in 2013.
After a successful loan spell with West Ham, the move was made permanent for £15million, meaning that Liverpool had lost £20million on Carroll alone. Ouch.
Naby Keita
Expectations surrounding Keita were sky high upon his arrival from RB Leipzig in 2018.
Liverpool paid £52.75million for his services, but never really saw the best of him as injuries plagued his five-year stint at Anfield.
He averaged just 16.8 league games per season during his time in England and left the club in 2023 on a free transfer to join Werder Bremen.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
In a similar vein to Keita, injuries hampered Oxlade-Chamberlain from reaching the heights that he was capable of with Liverpool.
After joining from Arsenal in a deal worth £35million, the England international made a positive impact during his debut season.
However, after missing the majority of the 2018–19 season through injury, the midfielder was consistently plagued by different knocks and injuries.
Upon his contract expiring, he left the club in 2023 for a free transfer as his importance to Liverpool had dwindled over the years.
Xherdan Shaqiri
Liverpool signed Shaqiri for £13.5million and sold him three years later for £9.5million, losing £4million on him in total.
However, given his role as a solid backup, the Reds probably won’t have minded taking a small loss on him.
Lazar Markovic
Once regarded as one of Europe’s brightest young talents, Liverpool signed Markovic in 2014 for a deal worth £20million.
“I can say that, apart from Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, Markovic is one of the best talents I’ve ever seen at 19 years of age,” is how former Chelsea manager Avram Grant described the Serbian winger.
Unfortunately, he never managed to justify that price tag and scored just three goals in 34 appearances for the Reds.
After numerous loan spells, he was eventually sold to Fulham in January 2019 for a fee of just £1.7million.
Now aged 31, he currently plays for Baniyas Club in the UAE Pro League.
Mario Ballotelli
With Brendan Rodgers desperate for more attacking options, Liverpool took a punt on Ballotelli and signed him for £16million during the summer of 2014.
The Italian forward lasted just one year at the club and scored four goals in 28 appearances across all competitions.
He spent the entire 2015–16 campaign out on loan and was then allowed to leave Liverpool on a free transfer in 2016.
READ NEXT: Breaking down Mohamed Salah’s surprisingly poor record in finals: Goals, assists, blanks…
TRY A QUIZ: Can you name Liverpool’s 20 most expensive sales in history?