Former Liverpool football chief Damian Comolli has revealed the restrictions FSG imposed upon his transfer strategy.

Comolli was speaking about the deal to bring Philippe Coutinho to Liverpool, one that was finally completed in January of 2013.

He told ESPN: “In the spring of 2012, the owners told me that we had a limited spending budget per player of €10 million and we could only sign players who were under 21.

“I said to the scout: 'Coutinho becomes our priority' because we were looking for a wide player to replace Dirk Kuyt.

"He (Coutinho) was not available because they transferred him to Espanyol [on loan] later on."

Comolli added: “We didn't even know he was that good - it was difficult to watch him play because he was never playing at Inter. We knew about him, we knew he was good, but it was only when Rafa said he's going to be world-class.

“When somebody like Rafa says a thing about a player like this, you listen. The head of recruitment said he was the best we could get. But I was sacked, then Kenny (Dalglish) was sacked."