Peter Moore starts work on Thursday as Liverpool chief executive with a brief to maximise the club’s revenue over the next few years, though he insists the idea is not to be caught up in a spending race with the likes of Manchester City.

Fenway Sports Group, the club’s American owners, have identified the Liverpool‑born former Microsoft and Electronic Arts executive as the sort of modernising operator who can locate and develop areas where the business can be made more profitable, but Moore will have no direct responsibility for incoming transfers and the present policy of looking for value in the market will stay in place.

Liverpool to sign Dominic Solanke after striker turns back on Chelsea Read more

“There is money to back the manager and the sporting director,” the 62-year-old said. “The key ingredients are already in place at this club, you can expect the team to be strengthened, but we won’t be spending £100m just because Manchester City has spent £100m. I have worked for in a company that was involved in a $1bn buyout and it didn’t quite work out. I have lived through a lot of merger and acquisition activity, and what I have learned over the years is that it is not how much you pay but what you get for your money.

“Everyone wants to see massive money but my business background is buying talent at the right price. We have a kid called Philippe Coutinho who cost £8m, and he is as good as other guys around the league who cost four or five times as much. What I am about, and what I believe this club is about, is making good business decisions.”

Moore has dual American-British citizenship and has spent the most successful years of his career in the Unites States, where he held senior roles with Reebok, SEGA and Microsoft and was responsible for marketing products such as Dreamcast and Xbox. A lifelong football fan and Liverpool supporter he is delighted to be replacing Ian Ayre, even if the remit has changed slightly since the former chief executive stood down. Whereas Ayre was responsible for pursuing transfer targets and tying up deals, Liverpool have appointed Michael Edwards to work with Jürgen Klopp in that capacity as sporting director. Moore’s role is purely to head up the business operation.

“It was made very clear to me from the start what the job responsibility was,” he said. “I am happy with the remit because I have never been involved in any transfer business other than as a fan, hanging on every rumour and signing. I am built for the job I am undertaking. Football is big business now, you have got to keep moving. I have been the CEO of a $5bn company with 8,500 employees. People might say, what does he know about football? He’s a video game guy or a shoe guy at Reebok. But the key is understanding what drives a business and what leadership qualities a CEO needs.

“My Liverpool background is a major plus, but it’s not key to what I bring. Working in Silicon Valley, where you quickly realise technology is a non-stop river, you have to be constantly on your toes, tweaking direction and strategy, driving revenue. I don’t think football is so very different. The challenge of modern football is also to keep up, not to get left behind. Looking from afar I see clubs that were powerhouses when I was a boy dropping off the pace and losing touch. That is always sad, because once it happens it is very hard to catch up again and become relevant.”

Harsh critics might say that is where Liverpool are at the moment, with no league title in 27 years, though Moore believes the club is well-placed for an upswing. “I think the stars are aligned here at the moment,” he says. “We have good owners, amazing investment in the stadium, we are presently laying down a brand new multi-million pound players surface, planning to improve our training facilities, we have a world class manager, money to spend on the team and we will be ready for our Champions League qualifying games.

“We will not be spending money just to keep up with the neighbours. We might spend £100m, who knows, but it will not be because one or more of our competitors has done so. We want to invest sensibly and securely, because that is how businesses grow. You need to always think: ‘we can do better here, we can do better there’. Every Premier League club, just like every Bundesliga, La Liga or Serie A club, has a sit down at the end of the year to review what they could have done better. Should you reach a position where you don’t think you can do any better, that is dangerous territory. If you are in business and you think you are perfect, you are screwed.”