Rafa Benitez revealed that Liverpool might have to let Fernando Torres go if they fail to qualify for the Champions League.
The Daily Mirror reported that the Spaniard boss revealed the need to achieve a Champions League spot or face the horror of having to sell their top stars like Steven Gerrard, Javier Mascherano, Pepe Reina and even Torres.
Benitez warned that the owners, Tom Hicks and George Gillett will have the final say when or if a bid comes in for the top players.
He said: "If a club came in and offered a lot of money for a player then it would be about doing what is best for Liverpool.
"I don't want to sell our big players. We have worked on contract extensions because we want to keep them and keep our squad strong.
"There would have to be conversations about what is best for the club in that situation and to decide what to do.
"Clubs haven't really enquired so I don't know.
"All I can say is that I want to keep our best players because they will take us closer to the top four."
The Liverpool boss also went on to compare Liverpool to the cash-rich Manchester City who have been throwing money into the pot to sign some of the best players in the world over the last few months.
He added: "I am not sure I would get the money to reinvest anyway. Maybe it doesn't matter because there aren't too many good players in the market that you can by for £8m.
"If you have big money, like Manchester City, it is always easier to make your decisions.
"I have to be clever. I have to analyse the market carefully because of how things are here.
"There aren't too many good players available and any that are available are asking for big, big money.
"City have shown that, if you want to sign top-class players, you have to pay big money.
"Big players play for big sides, most of them in the Champions League, so it is very difficult in January.
"If you ask any manager in the world he will tell you he wants more money to spend.
"More money means better players, but my situation here is that I have to do what is best for the club."
With Andriy Voronin and Andrea Dossena already out of Anfield, Benitez will have to stick to his underperforming stars like Ryan Babel and Alberti Riera to steer the Reds into a Champions League spot.
