The former centre-back didn't take kindly to suggestions that the Reds have been operating in a similar way to their rivals in the transfer market

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Jamie Carragher has taken aim at 's spending, stating that he would have won a Premier League medal if had been "bankrolled by a country" in an apparent reference to the champions' affiliation with Abu Dhabi's royal family.

Famously a one-club man, Carragher spent his entire 17-year senior career with his hometown side, lifting two FA Cups, three League Cups and the , while also being named Liverpool's player of the year on two occasions.

A Premier League title evaded him, however, a fate shared by fellow Reds legend Steven Gerrard, and the very likely prospect of his old club finishing as top dogs this season has the former defender understandably full of praise for Jurgen Klopp and his charges.

Indeed, Carragher recently stated that Liverpool are "not buying superstars, they're making them", arguing that Klopp and Co. have refrained from spending big on ready-made stars from elite clubs and suggesting that City have done the opposite.

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When put to the 41-year-old on social media that City have not in fact been recruiting from the world's best clubs, the 41-year-old used Raheem Sterling as an example, stating that Pep Guardiola's outfit bought the international "from a club who've won the Champions League six times".

A barbed response was issued, asserting that Sterling merely left Liverpool because he wanted to win a Premier League medal - and already has two more to his name than Carragher.

"Well I'd like to think I may have been lucky enough to get one if Liverpool were ever bankrolled by a country," the former Reds defender replied on Twitter. "And if not I know I wouldn't have left chasing their money as well as titles.

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"Imagine how much more you could spend if you filled that ground off the council!"

Liverpool's runaway lead at the top of the English top-flight table currently stands at 14 points over second-placed City, with the table-toppers also having a game in hand due to their Club World Cup exertions.

The Reds next face fierce rivals at Anfield, with the Red Devils eager to break the hosts' 38-game unbeaten run in the Premier League.