Rio Ferdinand says Liverpool got a ‘ridiculous’ bargain when they signed £2m player

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Liverpool are no stranger to finding a bargain in the transfer market.

The £34m signing of Mohamed Salah has yielded a remarkable 248 goals and 116 assists in 411 appearances for the Reds so far – while Alexis Mac Allister and Ryan Gravenberch also cost no more than £35m each.

These are all fairly recent additions, but Rio Ferdinand has now hailed Liverpool for finding a £2m bargain in Sami Hyypia way back in May 1999.

Rio Ferdinand and Steven Gerrard highlight Sami Hyypia bargain

Discussing the 52-year-old alongside Steven Gerrard on his Rio Ferdinand Presents YouTube channel, the Manchester United legend said: “Great player, two-footed wasn’t he?”

At the mention of Hyypia being two-footed, Gerrard quipped: “He was two million pounds.”

That revelation left Ferdinand astounded as he said: “Ridiculous. Probably one of the bargains of your time. Great player.”

“Great player” is arguably an understatement.

Hyypia racked up 464 appearances for Liverpool in total – scoring 35 goals and assisting a further 15 – while also winning ten trophies with the Reds.

• FA Cup x 2
• Football League Cup x 2
• FA Community Shield x 2
• UEFA Champions League
• UEFA Cup
• UEFA Super Cup x 2

The man from Porvoo in Finland actually cost just over £2m when arriving from Willem II back in May 1999 – Liverpool paid £2.6m – but even still, it has to be considered as one of the best signings Anfield has ever seen.

Liverpool have another ex-Willem II player who Sami Hyypia adores

Coincidentally, Virgil van Dijk also used to play for Willem II, and Hyypia – who named Dietmar Hamann as the worst trainer he saw – is pleased to see the Dutchman follow in his footsteps by becoming a pivotal figure for Liverpool.

Hyypia was delighted when Van Dijk signed a new contract in April to commit himself to Liverpool until July 2027, telling The Redmen TV: “Yeah, I’m very happy. It’s great news. Made my day… it’s very, very important.

“He is a very important part of the squad. When he came (from Southampton) he was already a leader in his first few games. He’s the type of player that makes everyone around him play better as well.”

Van Dijk was a lot more expensive than Hyypia – costing a sum of £75m when moving from Southampton in January 2018 – but he has since proven to be worth every penny for Liverpool.