Why Jamie Carragher is wrong about Liverpool's 'failed galacticos era'

Liverpool have spent the last two years in a period of transition, and currently it is hard to see when that will end.

When Jurgen Klopp announced he would be leaving Liverpool in January 2024, the Anfield faithful knew that things were going to be different without the legendary manager in the dugout, but no one expected what was to come.

In the very first season for almost a decade without the German in charge the Reds went on to win their 20th league title but results took a nosedive in Arne Slot's second campaign.

The club have spent big since Klopp departed, but not everyone believes that money has been spent wisely, and now a Liverpool legend has spoken out on the Reds current situation.

Have Liverpool failed in their big spending effort?

Writing for the Telegraph, Jamie Carragher revealed that he believes we are "in the midst of Anfield’s failed galacticos era", urging that Andoni Iraola should be given the benefit of the doubt as he has been given a 'bad hand' in Merseyside.

Whilst the notion that Iraola should be given more time before a judgement can be made is sensible, it is also far too early to condemn Liverpool's big spending strategy as a failure.

For years the Reds were a side that spent within their means, rarely splashing the cash unless it was for a ready-made superstar like Virgil van Dijk or Alisson, but in the last 18 months the approach has changed.

Anfield is now home to three players that cost over £100 million. In the summer window of 2025 the club broke the British transfer record twice.

This came a shock to many, including Carragher who said: "For Liverpool to become the first club in the world to field three £100m footballers is bewildering. To me, it was wrong."

The Liverpool legend speaks about the club's history of signing players with a desire for success and turning them into superstars and disapproves of the new approach.

"Spending record fees on those who already have that reputation did not sit well with me a year ago. Nothing has changed my mind."

But it is far too early in the Reds' rebuild to write off the last 18 months of transfers as a failure.

Alexander Isak spent a large portion of last season out injured, and has already looked much closer to the world class striker we saw at Newcastle.

Florian Wirtz has struggled to adapt his game to the Premier League, that much is true, but at just 23-years-old, and having spent only two months with his new head coach, it is harsh to declare his Merseyside move a failure too.

The transition currently taking place at Anfield is what most expected to happen in the wake of Klopp's exit, and the Premier League win in 2025 has skewed things.

Yes, Liverpool should be competing after spending over £650 million across three windows, but the powers that be at the club clearly felt that the issue last season was Slot.

Now, as Carragher rightly points out, more time and patience must be given to Iraola and the Spaniard could well prove that Liverpool's 'galacticos era' can be very successful yet.