With one foul swoop, Villarreal boss Marcelino put into context how much money Liverpool wasted on Belgian striker Christian Benteke. The forward cost a whole lot of money from Aston Villa this summer, but manager Jurgen Klopp hasn't trusted him - being named as a sub more often (26 times), than a starter (18 times) in all competitions this season.
Given the investment placed in the striker, it's fair to say he's been a flop. But it's not until you hear Marcelino's jibe that you realise how bad it is:
Liverpool as a club have an extraordinary squad of footballers when you consider Benteke cost 50million euros, which equates to the whole turnover of Villarreal as a club.
We know it's bad when expensively assembled squads are compared to how much Leicester spent on their players - but when a big European club's turnover is the same amount as what you would have paid for a single player. That's bad. What's worse is he's not been worth it either.
It's a tactic that works brilliantly when managers are ahead like Villarreal are, and is very similar to the one Connacht coach Pat Lam used about international caps this week. Let's see if it works for Villarreal, who hold a one goal advantage going into tonight's second leg at Anfield.
[Irish Independent]
