Rafael Benitez spent am incredible £247,730,000 during his time at Liverpool, a net spend of £104,050,000, and therefore an average spend of £17,341,667 a season.
Yet in Benitez’s time at the club, in the league they managed 5th, 3rd, 3rd, 4th, 2nd and 7th placed finishes.
“I don’t know if Liverpool’s current situation is anything to do with the financial position,” said Ferguson. “In the last regime they spent a lot of money on players, far more than Manchester United did. They had a huge squad of players, so I don’t know if the financial position is anything to do with it. I really don’t know because I’m not there. So I can’t judge what the impact of these things is.”
Sky Sports has different figures to the ones we have, but back up Ferguson’s factual comments on spending, claiming Benitez spent £240m and recouped £152m, with a net spend of £88m. Ferguson’s outlay on players during the same period was £223m, recouping £165m, with a net spend of £58m.
“I’ve never been personal,” he added. “You should examine him not me. I’ve always enjoyed a good relationship with Liverpool’s managers. Both clubs have always addressed the situation properly after games. That changed under the last regime, but it’s not a big issue for me.”
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Dig out your old shirts
