'Money can't buy you love' read the headline on the back of the ECHO, the morning after one of the greatest nights in Liverpool Football Club's illustrious history.
With supporters' ears still ringing, the unfancied Reds had just reached their first European Cup final in 20 years after knocking out the newly crowned 2005 Premier League champions - who had finished 37 points ahead of their hosts - with a nerve-wracking 1-0 win. The contest had been billed as not so much a David versus Goliath duel but a battle of a billionaire-backed team against normal folk.
The fact that Liverpool prevailed on the night amid what was unquestionably one of the most intense breath-taking atmospheres the famous ground had ever produced played perfectly into the narrative that the West London club could have all the money in the world but they would still be no match for the true spirit of a Kop-inspired Liverpool playing under the lights at Anfield.
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Of course, the Reds would go on to lift their fifth European Cup in circumstances so dramatic that books have been written about it, but a look at the wider picture probably tells a different story. Money can't buy you love, but in Chelsea's case, it certainly bought them trophies.
Since 2005, the Londoners have won 17 major domestic and European titles. Liverpool have won six. Add to that, if you will, the FIFA Club World Cup and the UEFA Super Cup and the tally stands at 19-9 in Chelsea's favour. Of course, much has changed at Anfield since Liverpool beat AC Milan to lift the Champions League in Istanbul 18 years ago. The club shop wasn't even open the day after the match. Imagine that happening now?
The Reds' then-owner, the late David Moores, knew that in order to compete with the emerging force of Chelsea, the club needed richer custodians and a new approach. And although the sale of one of England's most treasured football institutions to American businessmen Tom Hicks and George Gillett would end up being a total disaster that took Liverpool to the brink of administration, eventually the club ended up in steady and extremely wealthy hands.
Liverpool's recent period of success under Jurgen Klopp has brought joy to supporters worldwide and reaffirmed the Reds' position amongst the elite of European football. But by and large, it has been achieved with a strategy that has lent itself more to the steady element rather than the wealthy.
Continuity was always a principle in the past dominance of the club and that has been the case again with modern Liverpool. Jurgen Klopp - adored by supporters for his endearing personal qualities as much as his success on the pitch - is the longest-serving current manager in the Premier League at seven years and (at the time of writing) 99 days.
Since his appointment on October 8, 2015, Chelsea have had eight different managers. In that time they have won four major trophies plus the FIFA Club World Cup and and UEFA Super Cup. Liverpool under Klopp have won exactly the same.
But when it comes to spending money on transfers, the London club is playing a different game to the Reds. According to Transfermrkt, since Klopp's first full season in charge, rounded to the nearest million, Liverpool have spent £668m on player transfers. That sounds like quite a considerable sum until you compare it to Chelsea's spend over the same period of an eye-watering £1.28billion.
The net spend figure recently published by The Times also tells it's own story. Since Klopp's first full season Liverpool's net spend is £239.98m compared to Chelsea's £463.42m. So given that the two clubs are level when it comes to major trophies over the same period does that mean the Reds basically have the better business model when it comes to success on the pitch?
Judging by the current Premier League standings of both clubs, that is very much up for debate right now. Under Klopp, Liverpool's policy of identifying emerging talent and turning them into world beaters has been a fruitful one. The tactic of selling fringe players for inflated fees has been equally beneficial.
But reluctance to overhaul an ageing midfield has finally caught up with Liverpool and evidence of just how quickly a lofty position can fall away when one of it's key components is damaged is currently in plain sight for all to see.
Chelsea have had their own problems of course. A marriage to money can become somewhat difficult when the financer is linked to world troubles and if Liverpool decided to let an individual of considerable wealth take the club in a new direction they will do well to ensure that there is little in the background that could destabilise the operation in the same way their London rivals have been in the past 12 months.
Challenges to the football models of both clubs sees two of the sport's biggest names underperforming this season. Few could have expected the likes of Fulham, Brighton and Brentford to be sitting above Liverpool and Chelsea in the table. But while the Reds have, in the eyes of many fans, not spent considerably, their London rivals have been on a spree of epic proportions. And that has continued in January.
Mykhailo Mudryk looks every bit like a player who could succeed in the Premier League, but Chelsea have left absolutely nothing to chance in securing his signature this month in a deal worth £89million. This after spending £313million in the summer. For their part, injuries to Luis Diaz and Diogo Jota has forced the Reds into the transfer market themselves, bringing in Cody Gakpo to fill that void, but with no reasonable expectation of any more midfielders moving to Anfield this month it looks like the current crop will have to rediscover their form pretty quickly if Liverpool's presence in the Champions League is to continue beyond what is left of this season.
Much has been made over the past 20-odd years of the methods deployed by Chelsea to become a leading club in English football instead of one that was known as a second division club with cars parked behind one of the goals, as they were previously.
But if Liverpool's working model has been a noble one, the feeling is very much that it is coming to the conclusion of its life-cycle, if we are not there already. Manchester City and their infinite resources have largely been the only obstacle between Jurgen Klopp being a triple-Premier League Champion instead of just one, but they were there all the same and that is why the Anfield trophy count is not as high as it could be.
And while the agony of narrowly missing out on the Premier League and Champions League last season still hangs over Anfield like a dark shadow, Newcastle United have simply adopted the Chelsea and Man City way and calmly climbed their way close to the Premier League summit, already leaving last year's 92-point runners-up in their wake.
Many people do not like the presence of state money in the modern game and could think of nothing worse than Liverpool replicating such an approach themselves. But you have to be pretty optimistic or naïve to think that the Reds will be able to continue with the incredibly high standards they have set themselves without adopting a similar strategy - and owner - in the coming years.
Liverpool may beat Chelsea at Anfield on Saturday in what has surprisingly become a mid-table fixture, but if the Reds are wishing to avoid a future of languishing in an area of the league below their long-established station it feels inevitable that a switch to the Chelsea model - and all the controversies that may bring - is drawing nearer with each passing disappointment.
Whether that happens during or after the precious reign of Klopp as Liverpool manager is a question for Fenway Sports Group and their appetite for running the club versus capital gain.
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