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Brendan Rodgers insists he has no regrets about helping to rip the heart out of Southampton.

Liverpool have plundered three players from the south-coast club this summer, spending almost £50million on Adam Lallana, Dejan Lovren and Rickie Lambert, while Luke Shaw has joined Manchester United and Arsenal have recruited Callum Chambers.

Yet, while Liverpool’s American owners have been staunch supporters of Financial Fair Play Regulations, the Kop boss believes it remains a fact of football life that players will always chase their ­ambitions.

“I have absolutely no sympathy for Southampton,” said Rodgers, whose team kick off their campaign against the depleted Saints tomorrow.

“They have a choice as a club. They don’t have to sell. They had that choice. Maybe Southampton’s objectives have changed. They were on course to be a ­Champions League club, I believe, but, obviously, that has changed.

(Image: Christof Koepsel)

“I suppose Liverpool have taken three players, but Arsenal have taken a player, Man United have taken a player and there might be one or two others. It’s just ­football. It’s just the way it works. We were after a certain type of player that fits the profile and the mould of the way we play. So, I don’t have sympathy, no.”

Rodgers knows, from his own experience at Swansea, how tough it can be to build an established Premier League team while other clubs are circling for your best players.

New financial rules have made it even harder for clubs to keep their most talented individuals because it limits the ability of owners to invest their own money in the squad.

But there is no feeling of hypocrisy at Anfield.

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“Football hasn’t changed,” said Rodgers. “It has always been like that.

Southampton is a great club, but so was Swansea, who have produced a fine young player in Ben Davies and have lost him to Tottenham.

“That’s the nature of it. Players will want to compete at the highest level.

“Luke Shaw was probably disappointed and sad to leave Southampton, but he’s gone to a what he would deem to be a bigger club.

“The guys have come here because of the status of Liverpool and Champions League football. It’s hard to deny players that – and that will always be the case. I think chairmen and directors and executives understand that, so all they can do is maximise what they can get for the talent and look to invest again.”

Liverpool have signed eight new players after being armed with the £75million raised by selling Luis Suarez to ­Barcelona.

(Image: Getty Images)

But Rodgers was planning a major recruitment drive, regardless of the fate of last season’s 31-goal top scorer.

He said: “We were always going to be able to spend because we’ve arrived into the Champions League, which gives us an extra £30million or £40million to spend.

“It’s been done with the overall sustainability of the club in mind.

“We were the most watched team on ­television last year, which gave us extra funds to spend on players, and, obviously, there’s been the sale of Luis.

“Overall, with our net spend, we’re in a really healthy position.

“We’re very happy with the players we’ve brought in. It’s part of the evolution of the squad.”

Departed Southampton players: