Football
Mike Whalley 9y

Liverpool can sign quality players despite no Champions League - Ayre

Liverpool chief executive Ian Ayre insists that a lack of Champions League football is not having a financial impact on their ability to sign players.

The club have made six senior signings this summer, including Brazilian forward Roberto Firmino from German club Hoffenheim for £29 million.

Fenway Sports Group, the Reds' Boston-based owners, have a general policy of buying younger players with the potential to develop and increase their value.

Ayre says that Liverpool will continue to adopt a "smart and sustainable" approach in the transfer market, but can compete for the big names too.

He told The Manager, which is the League Managers' Association's magazine: "We may not be competing in the Champions League this year but we are still making progress as a club and continuing to add quality to our squad.

"We are also improving financially, which means that as we go forward with the plan, we will have more resources and will be able to invest more than we have in the past."

Liverpool will play in the Europa League this coming season, having finished sixth in the Premier League in May.

That means they will earn less in television revenue and prize money than they would have done by competing in the group stages of the Champions League, as they did last season.

Both Ayre and FSG are adamant that Liverpool must live within their means after the financial scares suffered under previous owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett.

"I stood on the Kop for many years as a fan, and like everyone else I'd love to buy all the greatest players, regardless of price," Ayre said.

"But, as we saw under the club's previous ownership, things can all go very wrong financially; then people will hold you accountable for not running the club in the right way.

"You can't work that way. You have to have a very detailed, thought-out plan and ensure everyone buys into it and adheres to it.

"That is what we have been doing and will continue to do.

"It doesn't mean we are not investing in or buying good players; we are just doing it in a smart and sustainable way."

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