Henry had no qualms
Liverpool owner John W Henry insisted Friday he had no qualms about splashing out a big fee for Newcastle striker Andy Carroll so long as the club emerged 15 million pounds (20 million dollars) up on the sale of Fernando Torres to champions Chelsea.
The Reds' decision to splash out £35 million on Carroll, still in only his first Premier League season, raised eyebrows but Henry said the fee was always contingent upon the money they received for Torres.
"The fee for Torres was dependent on what Newcastle asked for Carroll," Henry told The Guardian ahead of a weekend clash with Chelsea that could see the forward make a debut for his new club against the one he's just left.
"The negotiation for us was simply the difference in prices paid by Chelsea and to Newcastle.
"Those prices could have been £35 million (from Chelsea for Torres) and £20 million (to Newcastle for Carroll), 40 and 25 or 50 and 35.
"It was ultimately up to Newcastle how much this was all going to cost. They (Newcastle) made a hell of a deal. We felt the same way."
With Ryan Babel moving to Hoffenheim for £6 million, the difference on the Carroll deal allowed Liverpool to pay for the £22.8 million arrival of Uruguay forward Luiz Suarez from Ajax.
Henry though said he was surprised by Chelsea's decision to pay £50 million for Torres and added this raised question whether the London side, bankrolled by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, were truly committed to meeting UEFA's impending financial fair play rules.
"I was surprised Monday morning to receive an offer (from Chelsea for Fernando Torres) in that amount (£50 million) at the same time they were announcing such large losses (£71 million for 2009-10)," Henry said.
Henry, whose Fenway Sports Group also owns the Boston Red Sox baseball team, added: "We've always spent money we've generated rather than deficit-spending and that will be the case in Liverpool.”
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