Liverpool have had some ups and downs over the past few years, which is expected after the Reds achieved the highs of winning the Premier League and the Champions League between 2019 and 2020.
Jurgen Klopp has had the pleasure of coaching some of the world’s best over his tenure at Anfield, with some stars being far more memorable than others.
Last year, the German became the victim of orchestrating arguably one of Liverpool’s worst exchanges of the Premier League era, as Arthur Melo arrived on loan.
When did Liverpool sign Arthur?
Following the close of the 2022 summer transfer window, Liverpool announced the arrival of Brazilian midfielder Arthur Melo on a season-long loan from Juventus.
The deal included the option to make his move permanent for £32m, a prospect that the Reds didn’t even need to consider by the time the midfielder departed at the expiration of his loan.
At the point of his arrival, the Brazilian had eased the Merseyside outfit’s injury woes in the midfield, as Thiago Alcantara, Jordan Henderson, Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain were absentees at the time.
The former Barcelona ace told the club’s site, as relayed by Sky Sports, that his “ideas and visions were a good fit” for Liverpool, a statement that was far from relayed on the pitch.
How much did Arthur cost Liverpool?
While Klopp decided against triggering the £32m option to buy Arthur, the Brazil international still cost the Reds a considerable amount due to his wage demands and the £4m loan fee paid to Juventus.
Earning £110k-per-week at Anfield, Arthur was picking up a higher salary than the likes of squad essentials Andy Robertson and Ibrahima Konate, despite making little impact during his season at the club.
During the 2022/23 campaign, the Brazilian cost Liverpool a staggering £5.7m in wages alone, which amounted to him costing £9.7m per appearance, fusing his salary, loan fee and single appearance.
It was a dreadful outcome for both player and club, as after playing 13 minutes in the Champions League in September, Arthur’s time at Liverpool was essentially over as it began.
In early October, the Fiorentina midfielder suffered a muscle tear in training, which required surgery to fix, leaving him out of action for 145 days.
Time stopped for Arthur, but continued at Liverpool, and as players returned, arrived and performed, the Brazilian’s situation at Anfield remained stagnant and the possibility of him securing regular game time became impossible.
Three appearances for the U21 and seven outings on the bench as an unused substitute in the Premier League concluded the Juventus loanee’s time on Merseyside, leaving having played just 13 minutes over the campaign.
Journalist Henry Jackson branded the deal as “pointless”, which was a valid description, and as much as it was an agonisingly unfortunate situation for the midfielder, the Reds were contracted to pay his fees for the duration of the season.
13 minutes of football over the 2022/23 footballing calendar cost the Reds almost £10m, and marked what was possibly the worst loan situation in Premier League history, as the player now resides back in Italy with Fiorentina.
