Selling one of Liverpool's star players for huge money could have helped rebuild Liverpool's team for the future, claims Ian Wright.
The Reds' modern success under Jurgen Klopp hit a pivotal moment in 2018, when Brazilian Philippe Coutinho was sold to Barcelona in a deal that rose to a staggering £142m
Since then, the Merseyside club has not only won the Champions League for a sixth time, appearing in two other finals, but also ended their 30-year wait for a top-flight league title and more recently claimed both the FA Cup and League Cup at Wembley. But by missing the opportunity to sell a huge star like Mohamed Salah or Sadio Mane for mega-money, the chance to rebuild the squad for the future has been missed, according to ex-England and Arsenal striker Wright.
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Speaking on The Kelly and Wrighty Show, he said: “I think it all goes back to the pandemic and not being able to move one of the main guys on for massive money like Coutinho. That’s Liverpool’s business. One of those would have gone for massive money, and that would have financed the next bit. But it didn’t happen.
“They have had to go a different way and now it’s broken them a little bit, because they’re going all in on (Darwin) Nunez. I think he will come good but what’s got to happen is the team has to come good to help him.”
Liverpool's feared forward line was broken up in the summer when AFCON champion Mane joined Bayern Munich, but his sale only raised a reported £27.4m, potentially rising to £35m with add-ons.
Whereas money raised from the sale of Coutinho was able to be reinvested in a number of players at Anfield, the purchase of Nunez alone has cost the Reds an initial outlay of £64million, which could rise to as much as £85million in the future.
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