Liverpool boss Arne Slot delivers Man City spending message amid lucrative Erling Haaland contract

Arne Slot will tell his Liverpool side to use Erling Haaland's bumper new contract as a reminder of the levels they need to achieve if they want to win the Premier League.

Haaland's lengthy extension until 2034 commits the striker to the Etihad until he is 33, effectively ending speculation that he could leave for somewhere like Real Madrid. Having plundered 79 Premier League goals in two-and-a-half seasons, Haaland referred to Alan Shearer's all-time record of 260 as a target having penned his new deal.

And with back-to-back Golden Boots to go with his back-to-back Premier League medals, Haaland will now look to create a Premier League legacy as well as his inevitable status at the Etihad.

Slot, however, is choosing to use the news as motivation, refusing to get drawn into any public criticism of City's spending - with Haaland reported to now be on £500,000-per-week.

"We know how good we have to be every single day to compete in this league,” said Slot in response to Haaland's renewal. “It is not only the club you are referring to. Chelsea have also spent £1.2 billion and United have spent an incredible amount.

“Every team spends a lot of money over here, that's why it's such an interesting league to be part of. Some seasons this club [Liverpool] spends a bit more, the other season other clubs spend a bit more.

“That's what makes this league so intense and so difficult to win. But that's also the reason why we all want to be here, because you want to compete against the best, with the best. We are very happy with the team we have at the moment. We are still able to compete with all these teams that are spending an incredible amount of money.”

It is refreshing for a Liverpool manager to admit that Liverpool have opened the chequebook in recent seasons, and welcome the competition from City rather than attack them - even if his final comment positions his side as financial underdogs.

This week, former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp admitted that he has told his old players to book a flight to his holiday home in Mallorca if City are found guilty of their Premier League charges and they will hold a parade in his garden to celebrate (even though the charges do not refer to any season where Klopp would get a retrospective Premier League winners' medal himself if any of City's titles were stripped).