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The Man City transfer Liverpool should have stopped happening 10 years ago to win title
Manchester City face off against Liverpool in the biggest match of the Premier League season so far today (4.30pm).
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The whole landscape of the Premier League over the past decade could have looked very different had Liverpool signed David Silva before Manchester City came calling.
The year was 2009 and Liverpool had just agonisingly missed out on the Premier League title with Manchester United finishing four points ahead of them.
Steven Gerrard was in his prime with the likes of Jamie Carragher, Fernando Torres, Xabi Alonso and Daniel Agger lining up alongside him.
Meanwhile, City would only manage 10th after surprising everyone by signing talented Brazilian star Robinho the summer before.
The summer of 2009 was touted to be a big summer for Liverpool and then boss Rafael Benitez as they looked to build on their impressive league campaign.
The former Anfield manager admitted during the season that the club were coveting a move for Silva, then aged 23, who was proving to be one of the most exciting young talents in football.
But Liverpool baulked at the asking price of £25million, with former owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett quickly strapping the purse strings.
The Reds ended up selling Alonso, much to the bemusement of Kopites, with Alberto Aquilani coming in as his replacement, while Glen Johnson was bought to fill the void left by Alvaro Arbeloa.
There was no Silva lining on Merseyside though as Aquilani failed to deliver with the club falling down the league table, finishing a dismal seventh.
That ultimately led to Benitez’s demise at Anfield as he left the club by mutual consent in June 2010.
In contrast, City were beginning to make their mark in the league having spent big on signings such as Carlos Tevez, Emmanuel Adebayor and Joleon Lescott.
Tevez in particular helped fire the Citizens to their highest ever finish in the Premier League with 23 goals as they ended up fifth.
The blue side of Manchester grew even more optimistic that summer though as they flexed their spending power once again, this time bringing in players such as Yaya Toure, Jerome Boateng, Edin Dzeko, Mario Balotelli, Aleksandar Kolarov and James Milner.
But arguably the most important signing City made that summer was that of Silva, for what now seems a bargain at £24million.
Liverpool proved to regret not chasing Silva’s signature in 2009 and stopping him joining City in the years to come as the Sky Blues' era of dominance began.
The diminutive Spanish midfielder would help City go on to win four Premier League titles, four League Cups and two FA Cups.
Liverpool meanwhile went through a number of frustrating years before Brendan Rodgers almost led them to Premier League glory in 2014, with Jurgen Klopp then replacing him 18 months later.
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It’s night and day between the Liverpool from 2019 and 2009 with Klopp being afforded a competitive budget while also spending astutely in the transfer market.
But there remains some frustration on Merseyside about the missed opportunities from years gone by.
Failing to deliver on going after Silva 10 years ago ultimately put Liverpool in a phase of complete rebuild.
Now, Klopp has built a Liverpool team that are European champions and capable of matching the incredible squad - which still contains Silva - that Pep Guardiola has at his disposal.
But were it not for some big mistakes in previous years, Liverpool would have been here a lot sooner.