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Former Liverpool chief executive Rick Parry believes it’s now harder than ever for top clubs to keep their transfer business under wraps.

Parry negotiated a host of deals for the Reds during his 11 years at Anfield prior to his exit in 2009.

“You always try to get the business done and then announce the deal,” Parry said.

“It’s harder these days when agents play games. They try to ramp the price up and generate competition. More often than not that’s where the leaks tend to come from.

“You are negotiating with the other club and the other player. It’s in their interests to suggest that Chelsea or Man United are in for him when in reality they probably aren’t.

“It’s not easy to say the least and it’s probably getting more complex.”

Parry, speaking during an extensive interview with BBC Radio Merseyside’s Paul Salt , reflected on recruitment during his time at Liverpool.

He spoke about his regrets over the club’s failure to land the likes of Dani Alves, Nicolas Anelka and Damien Duff.

Rather than sign Anelka and Duff in the summer of 2002, Liverpool bought El Hadji Diouf, Salif Diao and Bruno Cheyrou instead.

“Listen, it’s always easy with hindsight. You learn from mistakes,” Parry said.

“Two players we were looking at. One was Nicolas Anelka who had done so well here on loan. I was with Gerard (Houllier) when he was agonising over that one. It was really a close decision.

“We had the deal done with PSG for Nicolas. Gerard was aware of his history with Arsenal and was concerned that maybe he wouldn’t have that passion as a full-time player rather than just being on loan and in the end decided to go with Diouf.

“The other player we were in for then who looked a great prospect was Damien Duff, who eventually went to Chelsea for big money a year later.

“With hindsight it maybe would have been more sensible to go with quality rather than quantity - buying a really good player rather than three who turned out to be distinctly average.”

(Image: (Photo by Stuart Franklin/Getty Images))

Alves was one who slipped through the net during Rafa Benitez’s reign with Parry adding: “We had the deal - finally after enormous complications - tied up for Dani Alves and then the decision was should we buy two players or should we spend all of that on a full-back?

“Alves wasn’t the player then that he is now. but he always looked like he would be a great player. Would he have been a better signing than (Jermaine) Pennant and (Peter) Crouch for example? Probably yes, but it’s easy with hindsight.

“Clearly, we were trying to make that final step. We didn’t have Chelsea’s money so we were trying to be smarter. Looking back, if I could do anything different, it would be to focus on buying one at a time rather than having to buy five or six every season.

“There were a lot of great things that happened with recruitment. Gerard signed Sami Hyypia and Stephane Henchoz. My very first signing was Gary McAllister. When Gerard came to me and said he wanted him I paused for a minute and thought: ‘Really?’.

“Gerard’s rational was that he was the best striker of the ball in the Premier League and with the youngsters coming through would be great in the dressing room. What a contribution he made in that 2001 season.

“During Rafa’s era we brought in the likes of Xabi Alonso, Pepe Reina, Javier Mascherano, Luis Garcia and Fernando Torres so there were a few half decent ones.”

Parry on having Roy Evans and Gerard Houllier as joint managers : “I think it was a recognition that things needed to change, but not wanting to change too radically and recognising we were very much within the European game with the importance of the Champions League and the influx of foreign players. We needed to evolve but didn’t want to lose our roots completely and cut the ties with the boot room.

“We compromised a little bit but compromises rarely work in any sphere, especially football. It was with the best of intentions to marry the old and the new but it was discovered fairly rapidly that it would be very difficult.

“To be fair to Roy, he had the courage and the good grace to say: ‘We can all see it’s not working and it’s time for me to move on.’

“He made it painless from the club’s point of view and deserves enormous credit for doing that.”

Parry on Gerard Houllier’s impact at Anfield : “Gerard knew the club and he knew the city. He had overseen the development of young players in France and was behind the generation who won the World Cup in 1998. His credentials made him ideal from our point of view.

“Gerard was a thinker and a strategist. He wanted to involve players in setting goals and direction.

“The Gary McAllister winner at Goodison in 2001 that was an extraordinary moment. A turning point that gave everyone such a lift as we went on to win the Treble.

“For me one of the most exiting things was that he said he wanted to build his team around an English core. He stuck to that. In 2001 we had eight young English players who were regulars which is pretty extraordinary by today’s standards.

“Even in his final season we still had seven English players as regulars so we stuck to that policy.

“Gerard was very strong in terms of team values. There was a phenomenal spirit in the team. I’ve got great admiration for Gerard. He’s still a friend and we still speak.”

Parry on Rafa Benitez’s appointment : “The step we were looking to make with absolute sincerity when we appointed Rafa was winning the league. That was the absolute priority.

“We wanted someone with a track record of winning major leagues and he had won La Liga twice with Valencia - a massive achievement.

“He was a great coach and a brilliant tactician. We thought he would be a fantastic fit. It was the home game against Juventus when I started to believe we could win the Champions League. The celebrations in Istanbul were pretty special.”

Parry on how close Steven Gerrard came to leaving Liverpool for Chelsea in 2005 : “Way too close. It’s quite interesting when you reflect on that time.

“People frequently say who are the signings you are proudest of and who gave you the most pleasure. In many ways it was Steven and Carra - keeping players is as important as buying them.

“Clearly, Steven came very close (to leaving) twice. In fact on the second occasion we thought we had lost him. The chairman and I went to see him at Melwood and there was no changing his mind. He was adamant but, fortunately, he did change his mind.

“We tried to outline that he was at the centre of all our plans. Steven’s dilemma was he wanted to win trophies and would he have a better chance of doing that elsewhere with greater resources?

“Steven’s head had been turned and he was tempted but when it came to it he wanted to stay.

“He phoned me late at night. He said: 'You’re not going to believe this but will you have me back again?' The obvious answer was yes.”