Liverpool legend Ray Houghton believes that the Reds will need to up their spending to Chelsea, Manchester United, and Manchester City’s levels if they want to challenge for the Premier League, reports the Daily Star.
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The Merseyside club were soundly beaten 4-1 by Arsenal on Saturday, showing the gulf between the two teams at the top end of the division. Whether or not this is down to money is debatable, but the side certainly hasn’t been helped by inability to match their rivals’ spending.
Manager Brendan Rodgers saw his team severely weakened by the departure of Luis Suarez last season, and captain Steven Gerrard has already made it clear that he is going to LA Galaxy at the end of the current campaign. Fellow star Raheem Sterling is also currently in the middle of a contract battle with the club.
Houghton said: “The owners are going to have to try and do something about it. Whether they are willing to, only time will tell. Liverpool are not in that area when it comes to actually spending and paying out on wages. They can only bring in a certain calibre of player.
“That may have to change if they are going to really be competitive to win the league and be competitive once they get back into the Champions League. I don’t think Liverpool can compete with Manchester City, Chelsea and Manchester United when it comes to paying wages.”
He added: “You look at some of the players at their clubs reputedly on £250,000 to £300,000 a week. Liverpool can’t pay that. I think that the highest-paid player is Daniel Sturridge and I heard that figure is about £150,000 a week.”