Former Liverpool MD says there is no Big Six

Sarah Winterburn

Liverpool’s former managing director Christian Purslow says there is no Big Six in Premier League football because the two Manchester clubs and Chelsea have so much more money.

Purslow is baffled by Jose Mourinho’s distress at his own supposedly limited spending power, and says Liverpool have no choice but to spend money to keep hold of Jurgen Klopp.

They sold Philippe Coutinho for £142m this week, having come under pressure from Barcelona.

Arsene Wenger admitted on Tuesday that they would miss out on target Jonny Evans if it came down to finances.

“They [United] are shopping at Harrods – I do not know why he is making excuses by the way – Liverpool need to start shopping at Harrods rather than just selling the good ones,” said Purslow on Sky Sports.

“And I really believe Jurgen Klopp is absolutely A-list, he is the next manager for one of those bigger clubs if Liverpool do not fulfil his ambitions.

“It is not a Big Six – it is a three and a three. It feels to me like City, United and Chelsea are breaking away from Liverpool, Arsenal and Tottenham for pure economic reasons.

“United are what Jose was on about, you are talking Paul Pogba, the most desired footballer on the planet went there last summer.

“The most productive centre-forward in the Premier League, Romelu Lukaku, went there last summer. Henrikh Mkhitaryan, probably the most admired creative midfield player in Germany, went there.”