da esoccer bet： This article is part of Football FanCast’s Opinion series, which provides analysis, insight and opinion on any issue within the beautiful game, from Paul Pogba’s haircuts to League Two relegation battles…
da bet sport： Rafa Benitez made plenty of purchases during his time with Liverpool.
Between 2004 and 2010, the Reds brought in more than 50 new players, plenty of which were bargains. The likes of Xabi Alonso, Pepe Reina, Daniel Agger and Lucas Leiva were all signed for less than £15m, for example.
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However, despite all those bargain arrivals, the former Valencia boss has recently told The Times that another player was his best-value signing, and it is unlikely to be a choice that will please the club’s supporters.
According to the 59-year-old, Raheem Sterling takes that accolade. Benitez explained his choice by saying: “I credit my scouts and [former Liverpool academy director] Frank McParland. They convinced me to sign the boy. I gave him a tour around the training ground. Fernando Torres was there, Sterling’s mother was there. You could see someone who loved football, who was excited.”
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Sterling, of course, is far from a favourite amongst the Anfield faithful. Even when he was still at the club, he was booed by the club’s supporters when picking up an end of season award, whilst some have blamed the Merseyside outfit’s fans for his clash with Joe Gomez in the England camp that saw him dropped for the Three Lions’ game against Montenegro. Despite all of that though, it is hard to argue that the 24-year-old provided fantastic value for money.
It was in 2010 that Sterling made the move to the north-west from QPR for £600,000. He was just 15 years of age at that time, hence the incredibly low fee, but it ended up being a steal. In 129 appearances for the Reds, he scored 23 goals and provided 25 assists. In 2013/14 in particular, he caught the eye as Brendan Rogers almost led the Reds’ to their first league title since 1990. In that campaign, he scored nine goals and provided seven assists in the top tier despite still being a teenager.
His departure from Liverpool caused controversy, with the winger even failing to turn up to training, but £44m was still made from his sale, which meant he was the most expensive English footballer in history at the time. That was more than 73 times what they originally paid for him.
Since that switch, he has 83 goals and 70 assists in 209 matches for the Manchester club, whilst he has also 56 England caps. He has ended up turning into a world class player – not bad for someone who once cost £600,000.
Meanwhile, one Liverpool youngster could facilitate Trent Alexander-Arnold’s move into midfield.