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After 104 days, the Raheem Sterling saga is over. It has been 104 days since the 20-year-old sat in a plush studio, the Liver Building in the background, and said he wanted to leave Liverpool FC.

He did not say that exactly, of course. Instead, he spoke of how he doesn’t care for money, but trophies. “I don’t talk about how many cars I’m going to drive, how many houses I’ve got. I just purely want to be the best I can be,” he told the BBC in an unsolicited interview.

At that stage, Sterling had rejected the £100,000-a-week contract offer from Liverpool. At that point, talks would resume over his future in the summer.

That was always wishful thinking. In reality, his comments signalled the start of the end of his Liverpool career – if not this summer, then in the not-too-distant future. Once Liverpool had set the asking price of £50m, it was a matter of time.

Perhaps that is why the Reds have done their business so swiftly this summer. The windfall of a Sterling fee was no guarantee, but if he was to leave, it would be for more than any other Englishman ever.

IN PICS: The players linked with Liverpool FC this summer

And so, the club spent. A deal worth up to £29m for Roberto Firmino from Hoffenheim. A fee of £3.5m for highly-rated Charlton defender Joe Gomez. Nathaniel Clyne, too, joined Anfield for £12.5m.

Hefty fees, undoubtedly, with more money to be spent on Danny Ings at some point – the amount most likely set by a tribunal. The arrivals of James Milner and Adam Bogdan would not have been completely free either, with wages and signing-on-fees a factor, particularly for the midfielder taken from Manchester City.

But Liverpool did lose high-earners Steven Gerrard and Glen Johnson this summer.

Now, the club have sold Sterling in a deal worth just a million short of their initial valuation.

Even when accounting for the 20% QPR will receive – their cut believed to be taken from the initial £44m fee – it means in transfer fees alone, Liverpool have made a profit so far this summer with the additional sales of Sebastian Coates and Iago Aspas.

Aspas' fee was reported to be around the £4.4m mark, while Coates moved to Sunderland in a £4m deal.

Of course, other expenditure – wages, bonuses, loyalty fees, loan fees and youth contracts – cannot be taken into account.

Nor can how much has actually been spent or received at this moment in time, with adds-ons yet to be activated.

But if deals are to be taken as their whole transfer value – Firmino £29m, Sterling £49m – then Liverpool are actually in profit.

Their next move will be fascinating.

Here is their balance sheet for this summer so far.

EXPENDITURE:

Roberto Firmino (Hoffenheim, £29m)

Joe Gomez (Charlton, £3.5m)

Nathaniel Clyne (Southampton, £12.5m)

Danny Ings (Bosman, fee to be agreed)

Adam Bogdan (Free)

James Milner (Free)

Total: £45m

INCOME:

Raheem Sterling (Manchester City, £49m*)

Sebastian Coates (Sunderland, £4m)

Iago Aspas (Sevilla, £4.4m)

*20% of £44m - £8.8m – believed to be going to QPR as part of sell-on clause

Total: £48.6m

Total (approximate) spend: £3.6m (in profit)

Liverpool will undoubtedly go back into the transfer market following the sale of Sterling – and they will be pretty much starting from scratch.

It’s an enviable position – but one that brings pressure, both from supporters expecting more big-money deals, and other sides waiting to do business with the club with a wad of cash in their back pocket.

If FSG's spending since taking ownership of the club is a guide of what is to follow, then the Reds will have money at their disposal - although not as much as some may expect, if recent history is an indicator.

Last season represented a decent outlay, spending £115m on new players. Even with the £75m supplemented by Luis Suarez's sale to Barcelona, they spent approximately £26m more than they received - although £10m of that was on a player, Divock Origi, who would remain on loan at Lille.

The season previous, 2013-14, the club spent out around £18m; in Rodgers' first season, a more significant expenditure of over £40m - that, of course, accounting for the arrivals of Daniel Sturridge and Philippe Coutinho in January.

In their first full season, and the infamous summer of 2011-12, saw the club spend around £34m all in.

The earlier seasons brought big spending, the past two less so. Fans await to see which route FSG will take this summer.

There must be more money spent this summer, with their pursuit of Christian Benteke evidence it will be.

But whether it is spent on the Belgian remains to be seen. If it is, it will be interesting to see how much - and whether there is anything left in the kitty afterwards.

Until then, eyes will remain on the balance sheet. Only then will judgement be fairly made.