Rafa Benitez explains need to sell Liverpool stars in order to compete

Rafael Benitez says the major difference between his time in charge of Liverpool and the current reign of Jurgen Klopp is that the Reds aren't being forced to sell their top stars in order to bring in new blood.

Klopp stands on the verge of ending the club's 30-year wait for a top-flight title, with the Reds following up last season's Champions League success with a near flawless Premier League campaign in 2019/20.

Although they lost at Watford at the weekend they still stand 22 points clear and four wins away from the title, something Benitez – whose biggest success with the Reds was the Champions League secured in Istanbul in 2005 – almost achieved in the 2008/09 season, when his side finished second, four points behind Sir Alex Ferguson's Manchester United .

The Reds lost Xabi Alonso to Real Madrid that summer though, and when Benitez left in 2010 he was swiftly followed by the likes of Javier Mascherano and Fernando Torres as the club floundered under unpopular – and eventually proven to be unfit – owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett.

Klopp faces no such issues with his top players under the ownership of Fenway Sports Group though, and Benitez sees the difference at the club now.

"We had no money," he told Marca .

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