Micah Richards says top-quality recruitment is the only way Liverpool and other Premier League sides will be able to compete with champions Manchester City next season.
Despite trailing Arsenal for large parts this campaign, Pep Guardiola and his star-studded team have now won their fifth English crown in six years. City might yet get their hands on a historic treble, too, as they continue to raise the bar after being pushed all the way by the Reds in recent times.
City revamped their squad last summer when signing Sergio Gomez, Kalvin Phillips and Norway goal machine, Erling Haaland, to offset Oleksandr Zinchenko, Raheem Sterling and Gabriel Jesus leaving. Liverpool are primed and ready to make their own changes 12 months on.
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Richards, who represented City during his playing days, has been impressed by two relatively recent signings Liverpool have made. However, if the Reds or anyone else in the chasing pack are to play catch up, they need to get things right in the boardroom - first and foremost - moving forward.
Speaking on Sky Sports duty, Richards said: "It's going to be difficult, isn't it? But football's a weird game.
"It changes. If you look at Manchester United, and when they were winning leagues, I think they last won it in 2013. I thought they would go on another level and be dominant."
Richards added: "Arsenal have improved and I'm sure Chelsea will be back to somewhere near their best next season, but this is the level if you want to win. Liverpool did it a couple of seasons ago, if you want to win the Premier League you have to be at that level and it's just about recruitment.
"The difference with Man City and Liverpool is they bought [Erling] Haaland and changed the dimensions up in the squad, whereas Liverpool lost [Sadio] Mane. [Cody] Gakpo's come in and done really well and [Luis] Diaz as well, [they are] really good players.
"Unfortunately this season they've not made a difference, whereas Man City bought players that have made a difference. I think that's where Arsenal struggled, it's about recruitment at the right times."
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