my liverpool fc

HISTORY and heritage versus finance and potential: it is a question that certain footballers will have to answer this summer when the transfer window opens.

With an ever-decreasing band of top class players available, invariably the same clubs competing for the same prizes find themselves chasing the same targets, so what will ultimately prove decisive?

In the red corner you have Liverpool; 18 league titles, five European Cups but lacking economic firepower. Standing in the blue corner, meanwhile, are Manchester City – their CV is short of silverware but their bank balance is burgeoning.

Put simply, City – backed by the billionaires of Abu Dhabi – have the potential to blow Liverpool or any of their other competitors out of the water; most clubs are finding it impossible to compete in such a landscape.

If City decide to draw up a contract with figures that resemble an international telephone number, they will, more often than not, win the race; looking at it rationally, what would you do if someone wanted to double or treble your salary?

It must be said, however, there are still plenty of top footballers who can see beyond pounds, shillings and pence and just want to be able to say they have pulled on the shirt of one of the world’s top clubs – think Fernando Torres, for example.

So, with that in mind, it is significant to listen to the views of Albert Riera ahead of tomorrow’s showdown between Liverpool and City at Eastlands, particularly as he has experienced life on both sides of the fence.

When he played for City four years ago, the massive turnaround in their fortunes was just starting to begin but Riera never settled and was only too happy to end his loan spell and return to Espanyol.

Compare that to when he discovered Liverpool were pursuing him. Despite more money being offer elsewhere, Riera only had eyes for the Reds and if he was asked to choose between his current and former employers now, his decision would ever alter.

“The money does not take you straight to the title but it certainly helps you a lot,” said Riera, when asked about City’s riches. “But we can’t think about that. All we are doing is thinking about ourselves and we will be focused on playing well.

“But whatever happens, you cannot say Liverpool is not in the top four. I don’t know where we will finish but you know that we will keep fighting until the end of the season for fourth place.

“Anyway, if that doesn’t prove to be the case, Liverpool are still top four. We have got a history and you cannot change everything in one year. The money they have will never take away from the prestige and titles we have.

“I am at the right club, I am sure of this. If you told me I had to change (back to Manchester City) I wouldn’t do it. The money isn’t important. It’s the football. We have everything here.

“We’ve got fantastic supporters and an amazing stadium. We have also got a great team and I am certain that, at the end of the season, we will be back up there in fourth place again.”

To do that, Liverpool dare not fluff their lines at Eastlands as City have the chance to disappear over the horizon; a home victory tomorrow would give Roberto Mancini’s side a four point lead, with a game in hand, heading into the final straight.

True, the outcome of this showdown will not prove to definitive but the feeling persists that whoever emerges victorious will ultimately have the Champions League on their agenda next season.

“This is the key moment,” said Riera. “It will not decide the race here and now, as there are many more chances to get points. But they are our biggest rivals for the Champions League and we need to win.

“Having a lead over your rivals is always better. It would be a really good moment to beat them. If we can get three points, afterwards we have got some games that you would expect us to win. It would be a good time to get three points.

“It would give us the confidence that we need right now. City are improving a lot and they have been near the top of the table for most of the season. It’s all so true that people have talked about us and said that we are not playing well.

“We wanted to be fighting for the title but that has not happened. With the players that we have, we know we can play better but we are still only one point behind them and this is a great opportunity for us. Finishing fourth is the minimum aim.”

Whether Riera retains his place in the starting line-up after an erratic display against Unirea Urziceni on Thursday night remains to be seen but he is hoping that Rafa Benitez gives an opportunity to bite the hand that once fed him.

This, after all, is the kind of game in which every player wants to be involved and the Spanish midfielder hopes Liverpool can become the first visiting side to triumph at Eastlands this season to make their rivals sit up and take note.

“They have played a game less than us so, if we won, it would be worth so much more than three points,” said Riera. “We will be back in front of them, we will have the confidence and it will mean more pressure for them.

“I suppose you can say it’s a bit like a final, as it is a massive game with so much at stake. But we need to win and we have to win. At the same time, we know it is not our last chance to make a statement.”