David Moyes has underlined the gulf in financial resources between Everton and Liverpool ahead of the 247th Merseyside derby but says the Reds’ spending power is fully deserved.
Everton broke free from the financial handcuffs of the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules (PSR) this summer to record their biggest ever net spend in a transfer window. But even that was dwarfed by Liverpool’s unprecedented £446 million outlay the highest figure ever spent by an English club in a single window.
Asked whether such numbers left him envious, Moyes was unequivocal.
“You have to earn the right,” he said. “You have to win and be in the big competitions which makes the money.”
The Scot drew parallels with his time at West Ham United, where successive seasons of European football helped transform the club’s ability to invest.
“I found at West Ham that three years in Europe allowed us to spend money, allowed us to bring money in and upped the spending,” he explained. “From that point of view, Liverpool are entitled to do that.”
Moyes also referenced Arne Slot’s first year in charge at Anfield, which has already yielded a fresh influx of talent.
“I heard Arne defending himself and he’s brought in a lot of money as well, which he rightly has done,” Moyes said. “But I still think they’ve spent more on one player than we’ve spent on the whole squad.”
For the Everton manager, the challenge is clear: finding a way to narrow the gap.
“It gives you a realism over where the game is and where the clubs are,” he admitted. “I need to try and shorten the gulf between the two clubs.”
Liverpool, reigning Premier League champions and among the favourites for this season’s Champions League, stand in stark contrast to Everton’s recent turbulence.
“At the moment, Liverpool are champions and are probably favourites, if not second favourites, for the Champions League,” Moyes said. “We’re not — we’re Everton who have had three or four difficult seasons and we’re just beginning to rebuild and trying to bridge that gap is quite difficult to do.”
Even so, Moyes was quick to acknowledge the quality of his city rivals.
“Obviously they’ve bought in a lot of really good players. Over recent years, Jurgen Klopp’s teams have been fantastic, and I think Arne Slot has come in and done a brilliant job for his club in the one year he’s been here.”
“They’ve gone out and bought some real top players which has strengthened them again. So they’ve looked to improve again, but I think we’ve improved as well and I think from my point of view, I have to look at us and what we’re doing and I want us to keep improving and get better if we can.”
Liverpool have opened their Premier League campaign with four wins from four, each clinched with goals beyond the 83rd minute. Moyes accepts that such late surges are often the hallmark of clubs with deep, high-quality squads.
“Liverpool have shown at different times they’re very, very good and there are other times where they’ve shown some vulnerability where they’ve conceded goals,” he said. “We’ll have to try and take advantage of those moments as well. We played them last year at Anfield and lost to an offside goal. We want to try and run them close again, work hard and maybe this time it will fall in our favour?”
The Everton boss also echoed Mikel Arteta’s description of top clubs’ substitutes as “finishers” rather than back-ups.
“I think it’s a big part of the game now that you should be able to bring people off the bench and maybe help them change the game and they can have an impact,” Moyes explained.
“The teams at the top of the league who have so many games and need the extra players are using it. We think we have people as well who are not always the starters, who can come on and finish the games as well.”
For Moyes, the financial gulf between the two Merseyside clubs is not something that can be closed overnight. But with Everton’s rebuild now underway and the club finally free of PSR restrictions, he sees a path however gradual to narrowing the divide.
Liverpool, he concedes, have earned the right to spend at the very top of the market. Everton, meanwhile, must chip away at that advantage with smart recruitment, patience and resilience.
