Kenny Dalglish was earning way more than his Liverpool teammates, and Mark Lawrenson found it easy to see why, even as a player.
The legendary Scotland and Liverpool forward was one of the best players in the world in the 1980s. He played alongside former Republic of Ireland international Lawrenson throughout his tenure with the club.
It is often assumed that 'King Kenny' was the best player that Lawrenson played alongside, however, few would think that Lawrenson would see Dalglish as the best player he ever played against as well.
Lawrenson played two Premier League seasons at Brighton, meaning that he did eventually come up against his former side. This was when he would face his 'genius' former teammate.
Speaking on Football Saturday, Lawrenson suggested that, while they never knew exactly how much he was on, everyone at Liverpool knew that Kenny Dalglish was earning way more than them.
"You never talk about your money," Lawrenson said. "The only idea we had was that Kenny was on far more than we were!
"No one ever mentioned money, but we knew Kenny, and quite rightly so, because he was a genius."
Lawrenson admitted very quickly that Dalglish was his best teammate. When asked about who his best opponent was, Lawrenson was very quick to answer.
"The same person," Lawrenson said. "For two season when I was with Brighton in the same league, we obviously played against Liverpool.
"So, my stock answer with Kenny is always: He couldn't run, he couldn't head it, and he had a big fat backside. But he was a genius. An absolute genius.
"He never wore shin pads, and in the '80s that took some doing. He said, 'the day I need to wear shin pads is the day I pack it in'."
While Dalglish was an exceptional player, Lawrenson admitted to getting into heated arguments on the pitch with his teammate. However, it would always remain on the pitch.
"We would have massive rows on the pitch," Lawrenson said. "If you listened to it nowadays, you'd be thinking, 'God, they must hate each other!'
"He had this thing where he always wanted the ball into his feet. Sometimes he had to try and bend it round people. It might get a bit high, but he'd control it.
"He'd lay it off, then he'd look at you as if you were something at the bottom of his shoe! But as soon as you'd finish, he'd come over and go, 'we've won, it's all good'.
"And he was like that as player-manager as well."
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