Liverpool need a spectacular collapse by the three richest clubs to end 28 years of hurt and claim the Premier League crown.
That’s the view of Rafa Benitez, who spent six years in charge at Anfield. He insists cash is king.
Benitez, who leads his Newcastle team into Sunday’s clash with Liverpool, said: “When I arrived at Liverpool, my budget was £20million gross – and when I left it was £17m.
“Still, people would say, ‘You have to win the title, you have to compete.’ But just with their tickets, Manchester United had around £50m more every year.
“If other teams maybe aren’t doing too well, you can be there. We had 86 points one year and finished second. Why? Because United were there.
“Leicester won the title because three or four top sides were really bad and were not performing.”
Benitez sees Manchester giants United and City and Chelsea as the cash-rich clubs who will be hard to topple in the title stakes.
He added: “The reality is that if you see the winners of the last 20 years, 90 per cent will be teams with more money. It’s quite difficult for anyone else.
“You can say, ‘Mauricio Pochettino and Tottenham, they can win the title.’ But still, they will have problems because the others are spending more money.
“The only way is to be really good one year and two or three of the others have to be bad.”
Benitez led Liverpool to a Champions League triumph in his first season at Anfield. His best league return was runners-up in 2009.
His team possessed stellar players including Javier Mascherano, Xabi Alonso, Fernando Torres and, of course, Steven Gerrard and, perhaps their best victory came at Old Trafford when they beat Sir Alex Ferguson’s star-studded side 4-1.
Recalling his Anfield reign, he said: “At that time, it was Chelsea, Arsenal and United. Now you have City or Tottenham and the others.
“There are some clubs who have massive money and Liverpool were a little bit behind in terms of money. So how can you win trophies? You have to create a good team, a great atmosphere and work very hard.”
Meanwhile, Benitez believes Newcastle midfielder Jonjo Shelvey (above) was a victim of managerial changes at Liverpool.
Benitez said: “I signed him and then I left. He was a young, English player and a great talent.
“I didn’t coach him and manage him at Liverpool, but he had the potential and you can see now he has quality.
“Obviously, when you change manager, he wants to bring his own players in and it can make it more difficult for young players.”