Peter Moore insists that money will not dictate Liverpool’s transfer strategy.
Moore made the declaration as he prepares to start work as the club’s new CEO ahead of a summer where the Reds are planning to strengthen significantly.
The former EA Sports executive succeeds Ian Ayre in the Anfield boardroom as Jurgen Klopp aims to land a series of his top targets including Virgil van Dijk.
Southampton are holding out for a £50 million offer for the defender, who has also been targeted by Manchester City, Chelsea and Everton in recent months.
But Moore has vowed that Liverpool will not be competing with their Premier League rivals by going toe-to-toe financially for players this summer.
He said: “This is not about if Chelsea spends a pound, we have to spend a pound regardless of the quality of that player that we’re looking at.
“This is about looking at a budget – and this is what I’ve done for 40 years. You look at a budget, you look at what capital expenditure you can afford, which is writing a cheque for something.
“Then you look at your opex, which is paying for the upkeep of that asset. Let’s say those assets are players and this club is no different.
“This is less about an arms race for spending as much money as we can. It’s more about spending smartly. There are tremendous resources that are available for this club here.
“Our focus is to find the right players, get the right value, strengthen the squad.
“Hopefully we’ve got a long season of European football ahead of us and, as such, that’s what needs to able to be built to take that on accordingly – particularly with the style of football we play.”
Moore, a Liverpool native and lifelong fan, has also made an impassioned argument to players who may consider turning down a move to Anfield.
“We are Liverpool – if that statement doesn’t resonate with you as a player and you haven’t walked out of here on a Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday night and you don’t get it, maybe we’re not the right club for you,” he told Click Liverpool.
“Everything that means in that statement that if you’re a player should resonate within you if you have ambitions to play for your national team; you want to play on the [biggest] stage; you want to play in front of 54,000 of the greatest fans in the world.
“[If] you want to hear ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ or the ‘Fields of Anfield Road’ resonating in your ears as you press forward here; you want to walk the streets of Liverpool and be idolised, albeit in a respectful way.
“You want to be on the same stage and held in the same revere as Roger Hunt, Ron Yeats, Ian St John, Kenny Dalglish, Kevin Keegan, John Toshack Ian Rush, Steven Gerrard, Luis Suarez – you name them.
“If I say to you ‘We are Liverpool’ and you still don’t get it, then maybe you should play for somebody else.”