Jamie Carragher believes two players cost Liverpool the Premier League title

Jamie Carragher believes he would have won the Premier League with Liverpool if they had signed wingers like Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane while he was a player. Reds legend Carragher failed to win the league despite spending 17 seasons with the Anfield club.

Liverpool during Carragher’s time – from 1997 to 2013 – were far from the force they later became under Jurgen Klopp in the league. The closest the centre-back ever got to domestic glory was during the 2008/09 campaign under Rafael Benitez, when they finished second behind Manchester United by just four points.

Benitez admitted recently that financial constraints played a part in Liverpool’s inability to sign top players and therefore compete against wealthier teams like United and Chelsea. Now, Carragher has echoed his former manager’s sentiments, claiming that they lacked two world-class wingers to go toe-to-toe with their rivals.

He specifically pinpointed 2019/20 Premier League champions Salah and Mane, who were signed by Liverpool in 2017 and 2016 respectively, as the calibre of players required a decade earlier.

Speaking on Stick to Football, brought to you by Sky Bet, Carragher said: “You go into the Champions League every year with the four English clubs and probably Milan and Barcelona. Real Madrid wasn’t as good at the time. Even though we didn’t win the league, we were still one of the best clubs in Europe for five seasons.

“For us we just never had an amazing winger, like a [Cristiano] Ronaldo or a [Ryan] Giggs. If we had one of them, we would have been better. If we had a [Sadio Mané] or a [Mo] Salah back then, we could’ve won the league.”

Mane and Salah blossomed under Klopp’s guidance, forming one of Europe’s most formidable attacking tridents with Roberto Firmino. Their contributions were pivotal in Liverpool’s success, which included reaching three Champions League finals and finishing with more than 90 points in the league on three occasions.

Mane scored 120 goals in 269 appearances while Salah currently has 214 goals in 354 matches for the Reds. The duo played a significant role in restoring Liverpool to its former glory, clinching every possible club trophy along the way.

Explaining Liverpool’s failed pursuit of a title during his own playing days, Carragher added: “Liverpool fans were always brought up on the league. It was always about number 19. With Benitez we were getting better every season, and we were that close. But for whatever reason it just seemed to fall apart.

“I don’t think we were ever a team who were like Newcastle [United] and threw it away, or like Brendan Rodgers’ team. We were never that team or in that position. In 2002, we were chasing Arsenal and Manchester United. We look back as Liverpool fans and think that it was much closer than what it was.”