Ray Houghton: Man United have always been more proactive than Liverpool

As a double title and two-time FA Cup winner with Liverpool, Ray Houghton will be remembered fondly when you talk to fans of The Reds. The former Republic of Ireland international made over 150 appearances for the Anfield club between 1987 and 1992, netting 28 times for Liverpool during a memorable spell on Merseyside.

Luckily, we managed to nab Houghton when he attended a shop event of ours in Oxford recently, and the topic of transfer for Jurgen Klopp’s current side cropped up swiftly. The Reds were relatively inactive in the recent transfer window and watched on as their nearest rivals in the Premier League – Man United, Man City and Chelsea – splashed the cash indiscriminately.

It was the business of Liverpool’s arch-nemesis Man United that attracted a slightly envious reaction from Houghton, and he feels not a lot has changed since around his time in the time when it comes to the respective financial performances of the bitter rivals. We’ll let Ray explain…

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Manchester United like Liverpool are a world club, but the amount of money that they generate from advertising/sponsorship revenue supersedes Liverpool.

Man United have always been more proactive than Liverpool over the years.

This goes back to the ‘70s when Liverpool were winning everything still, but Man United were out there selling the club and they were generating lots of money, and that’s continued. If you look at their annual returns, United’s is far greater than Liverpool, so they’ve got more money to spend and they’ve bought well.

You look at this season and who they’ve brought in. They’ve got Cristiano Ronaldo, Jadon Sancho and Rafael Varane that have come into the side. They’ll probably want another midfielder just to supplement the likes of Fred, Nemanja Matic and Scott McTominay. But, there’s no doubt they have got the resources to strengthen the team further.

Liverpool are maybe a bit more frugal because of the way the transfer market has gone and the amount of money that’s been spent.

They probably looked at what has happened to Real Madrid and Barcelona, and how they’ve overstretched themselves. They’ve spent too much money or gave out too much in wages, and now they’re struggling financially.

Whereas I think with Liverpool, and their owners, are just sitting back assessing what’s going on in football right now.

Maybe clubs are overspending, wages have gone higher, and they’re trying to look at the bigger picture.

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