• Premier League

Liverpool owner labels Carroll a 'hell of a deal'

ESPN staff
February 4, 2011
Andy Carroll was a 'hell of a deal' according to Liverpool owner John W Henry © PA Photos
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John W Henry has explained Liverpool's decision to spend a British record transfer fee on Andy Carroll, revealing he strictly stipulated that the Reds pay £15 million less than they received for Fernando Torres.

Much has been made of Carroll's £35 million price tag, which comes after just 41 top flight appearances for the 22-year-old.

Liverpool sold Torres for £50 million to Chelsea, but Henry explained that fee would have been greater had Newcastle asked for an even higher price. The Liverpool owner insists the eventual valuation for Carroll was only important in relation to the fee recouped for Torres.

"The fee for Torres was dependent on what Newcastle asked for Carroll," Henry told The Guardian. "The negotiation for us was simply the difference in prices paid by Chelsea and to Newcastle.

"Those prices could have been £35 million [for Torres] and £20 million [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."

Henry has also questioned Chelsea's ability to fall in line with UEFA's new financial fair-play ruling. Soon clubs will only be able to spend money that has been generated, which would certainly leave Chelsea in danger having spent over £70 million in the January transfer window, just days after announcing £70 million losses.

"I was surprised Monday morning to receive an offer [from Chelsea] in that amount (£50 million) at the same time they were announcing such large losses (£71 million for 2009-10)," Henry said.

"The big question is just how effective the financial fair-play rules are going to be. Perhaps some clubs support the concept in order to limit the spending of other clubs, while implementing activities specifically designed to evade the rules they publicly support. We can only hope that UEFA has the ability and determination to enforce what they have proposed."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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