Arne Slot happy to see Liverpool compete with big spenders

Liverpool head coach Arne Slot is happy he has a team which can compete with bigger-spending Premier League rivals.

The nine-and-a-half year contract Erling Haaland signed with Manchester City on Friday, which is reported to be worth £500,000 a week to the Norway striker, was a reminder of the financial power a select number of top-flight clubs have.

It sits in stark contrast to Liverpool's current situation with three of their top stars Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold out of contract in the summer.

Their combined weekly wage is estimated at £750,000, with Salah the highest earner in the club’s history with a weekly pay packet of £350,000.

And while City are pushing through a January mini-rebuild for at least four players which could exceed £150million the likelihood Liverpool will make a significant move remains slim.

Asked whether City’s financial power meant his Premier League leaders cannot afford to drop their own high level of performance, Slot said: "Not particularly about the investment but we know how good we have to be every single day to compete in this league.

"It is not only the club you are referring to, Chelsea also spend £1.2billion, (Manchester) United spends an incredible amount.

"Every team spends a lot of money over here, that’s why it’s such an interesting league to be part of.

"Some season this club spends a bit more, other seasons other clubs spend a bit more. That’s what makes this league so intense and so difficult to win.

"But that’s also the reason why we want to be here: you want to compete against the best, with the best, and we are very happy with the team we have at the moment and we are still able to compete with all the teams that are spending incredible amounts of