Liverpool Star Makes Brutally Honest Admission About Summer Transfer Business

Alexis Mac Allister also outlined Liverpool’s ambitions for the remainder of the 2025–26 season.

Alexander Isak (left) and Florian Wirtz both arrived for record-breaking fees over the summer. / Harry Langer/DeFodi Images/Getty Images

Liverpool midfielder Alexis Mac Allister damningly admitted that the club “changed too many things” during the summer transfer window, which he highlighted as one of the problems behind the doomed defence of their Premier League title.

No football club has ever spent as much as Liverpool did last summer. Building from a position of strength and funded by a lack of any real activity over the previous 12 months, the Reds became the first team to ever break the £400 million ($538.7 million) barrier in a single window.

Alexander Isak (£125 million) and Florian Wirtz (£116 million) accounted for more than half of that outlay, while Hugo Ekitiké was also brought in for the steep sum of £79 million—which is more than German champions Bayern Munich spent across the entire window, for comparison. Fullbacks Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez arrived alongside centre back Giovanni Leoni to complete the transformation.

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Liverpool had previously never spent more than £156 million in a single window, yet almost tripled that in one summer to account for the departures of Trent Alexander-Arnold, Darwin Núnez and Luis Díaz, as well as the tragic passing of Diogo Jota.

Despite their extensive outlay, Liverpool have endured a desperately underwhelming campaign. After a winning start to the season papered over the cracks of inconsistent performances, those wobbles were brutally exposed during a demoralising sequence of nine defeats in 12 games between September and November, the club’s worst run of form since the 1950s.

Virgil van Dijk (left), Alexis Mac Allister (middle) and Alexander Isak (right) has all struggled this season. / Molly Darlington/Getty Images

When pushed for an explanation behind this dramatic decline, Mac Allister pointed to the personnel churn. “Many things changed,” he told Sky Sports, “new players came in to replace those who left, we changed too many things, but I prefer to keep it to myself.

“It hurts because this should be a moment when we are enjoying the Premier League which we won and we should be in a much better place than we are,” the Argentina international added. “So it hurts, many things have changed from last season and it is not ideal, but that is the situation we are in and we have to face it and keep working to get better.”

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Liverpool’s 2025 Transfer Business

Ins

• Alexander Isak (Newcastle, £125 million)
• Florian Wirtz (Bayer Leverkusen, £116 million)
• Hugo Ekitiké (Eintracht Frankfurt, £79 million)
• Milos Kerkez (Bournemouth, £40 million)
• Jeremie Frimpong (Bayer Leverkusen, £29.5 million)
• Giovanni Leoni (Parma, £26 million)
• Freddie Woodman (Preston, Free)

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Outs

• Luis Díaz (Bayern Munich, £65.5 million)
• Darwin Núñez (Al Hilal, £56.6 million)
• Jarell Quansah (Bayer Leverkusen, £35 million)
• Ben Gannon-Doak (Bournemouth, £25 million)
• Caoimhín Kelleher (Brentford, £18 million)
• Tyler Morton (Lyon, £15 million)
• Trent Alexander-Arnold (Real Madrid, £8.4 million)
• Nat Phillips (West Brom, £3 million)

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Mac Allister Names Liverpool’s Objectives for 2026

Alexis Mac Allister has already given up on the Premier League. / Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images

Mac Allister effectively conceded Liverpool’s aspirations for Premier League glory at the halfway point of the campaign. “There are not many chances of Liverpool retaining the title,” he said. “I hate to say it, but it is quite clear. Arsenal is in a really good moment, Manchester City is quite close, but we are not close in terms of performances, or results, so I do not see us becoming champions again.”

However, the World Cup winner had not yet given up hope of other silverware.

“It is quite clear we have amazing players,” Mac Allister insisted, “it is just about becoming a team, that is what we need. Personally, without the team I am nothing and I feel like we all need to get better and think about the guy next to me, become a better team and that will help us and raise our level.

“For me it is quite clear but in terms of goals, the Champions League is there and we will definitely fight for that one because it would be a very nice one. And the FA Cup, which is a really important cup for English teams.

“When you play for Liverpool,” Mac Allister concluded, “you always have to fight for everything.”

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