SiLva: we reSpeCt SCHaLKe
HESKEY: RED ALERT
v LIVERPOOL believe their financial might will prevent Mo Salah following Luis Suarez and Philippe Coutinho out of Anfield.
The tit le- chasing Reds announced annual record pre-tax profits of £125million during the week as reports surfaced in Italy that Juventus are ready to offer Argentine striker Paulo Dybala and £44m to take Salah to Serie A.
But Liverpool will resist any bids for their Egyptian talisman an – and this time they can back k up that resolve with the muscle that comes with making huge profits.
The Merseysiders felt compelled to cash in on
Suarez in 2014 when Barceelona agreed to pay £65m.
And they were unable to keep Coutinho (above) out of Barca’s clutches when the Catalan giants offered £105m for the Brazilian in January 2018.
But Liverpool have now entered a new financial era after owners Fenway Sports Group successfully turned the club’s worldwide appeal into cold cash.
A source connected to football finance said: “Liverpool are no longer a selling club.
“Despite what they have said in the past, when other big European clubs have come in with big money offers they have been forced to sell.
“That is no longer the case. Any club that posts profits of £125m can resist any offers.”
Jurgen Klopp took the he Reds to the Champions League e Final last season and once again n qualified for Europe’s top club competition ompetition by finishing in the e Premier League’s top four.
And after being bankrolled nkrolled to the tune of £175m in the he transfer market last year, the German is now in the race to land Liverpool’s first title for 29 years.
The club’s owners see Salah (right) as a huge part of f the future.
He scored 44 goals last season following his £31.5m arrival from Roma and he has hit the he target 20 times already this time – including 17 in the Premier League. ue. Meanwhile, M Andrew drew Robertson er believes that reaching i last year’s Champions League Final has convinced Anfield’s ’s stars they can c cope with the pressure su of this season’s eason’s Premier Prem League title itle bid. The full-back dissmisses as nonsense stoories claiming Liverpool ol players are struggling ng with a burden of expectatation.
Robertson said: “We’re re ready for it. In terms of pressure, we let everybody ody else, the media, the experts, xperts, talk about that. The only pressure on us is playing for Liverpool. pool. That’s big enough. If we can n deal with that, we can deal with anything.
“Last year everybody dy started talking about winning nning the Champions League and nd said we were under pressure. But ut we dealt with that, even if we just st fell short at the final hurdle.
Second leg: Wednesday, March rch 13
v MANCHESTER CITY’S Bernardo Silva insists Pep Guardiola’s men will be taking nothing for granted against Schalke.
City got a plumb last-16 Champions League draw when they were paired with the struggling German club, who are down in the lower reaches of the Bundesliga.
The Blues travel to the Veltins Arena on Wednesday night for the first leg and will be expected to complete their
“So we have to keep going and go that one step further this time, in both competitions.”
Some predict Liverpool will crumble in the title race, but the reaction after draws against West Ham and Leicester didn’t surprise Robertson.
Liverpool bounced back with a victory over Bournemouth and he insisted: “We are here to stay. It is going to go right to the wire in the league.” passage into the quarter-finals at the Etihad.
But Silva said: “You cannot expect to have an easy game in the Champions League whoever you play.
“Schalke may not be at the top of the Bundesliga, but they have done well in Europe and they will look at the games against us as an opportunity to do well.
“We will have to be at our best to go through – in both games. I remember when I was at Monaco and we drew City at the same stage. When we lost the first game in Manchester 5-3, no-one
tt expected us to progress. But we won the second game 3-1 and went through on the away goals.
“The Champions League is such an important competition that players can find something extra.”
Guardiola won the Champions League twice in three seasons with Barcelona.
But in three years with Bayern Munich and two seasons with City, he has failed to get beyond the semi-finals.
City were humbled 5-1 over two legs by Liverpool in Europe last season.
Second leg: Tuesday, March 12