Jurgen Klopp admits he made a mistake in his comments about signing players for over £100m as Liverpool close in on a deal for Moises Caicedo.
The Reds have fended off competition from Chelsea and look set to land the Ecuador international, who has excelled at the Seagulls in recent times, for a British record £110m.
In the past, Liverpool has spent a lot of money on players like Virgil van Dijk and Alisson, but in 2016, Klopp highlighted his concerns about the high player costs. After Manchester United acquired Paul Pogba, the Liverpool manager even stated he would retire from football if transactions reached £100 million.
Back in 2016, whilst Jose Mourinho was spending bit at Old Trafford, Klopp was adding the likes of Sadio Mane and Gini Wijnaldum for bargain prices given what they went on to achieve. He also got the best of out players like Roberto Firmino and Philippe Coutinho, the latter being sold for a huge profit.
The German resented the idea of spending such sums on one player, underlining the value of the collective rather than the individual, seemingly dismissing the idea he would do likewise.
He said: “If you bring one player in for £100million or whatever and he gets injured then it all goes through the chimney. The day that this is football, I’m not in a job any more, because the game is about playing together. That is why somebody invented passes so these players can play together. It’s not about running with the ball because you can do it all the time.
“Team building isn’t my only idea – it’s essential to success in football. Other clubs can go out and spend more money and gather the best players, yes. Should I do it differently? If I spend money, it’s because I try to build a real team. You can win the championship, you can win the title. But maybe there’s a way you want it. It’s about how it is.
Reverse spending
His positional spirit may have been, but when the Liverpool market exploded and Klopp had a simple choice. Carry on or fall – there will never be only one outcome. Despite all the Germans say about teamwork, quality players pay the price in the end.
He made Virgil van Dijk the most expensive defender ever. Alisson the most expensive goalkeeper ever. Darwin Nunez later became the club’s record signing. Klopp was then forced to defend the club’s spending after being reminded of his previous stance on the matter.
Now it’s even heavier. Liverpool’s record signing will now surpass anything Manchester City, United, Chelsea or Arsenal have done.
Klopp says:
“Things like that happen. When you want to sign a striker as exciting as Darwin, that’s the deal and you pay the price. I’ve said a lot of things in my life and life has taken hold. me then and showed me that my imagination is clearly not clear enough to know how quickly life can change. That’s it.
“Then (Pogba comments) we bought a centre-back for a decent amount (£75m for Virgil van Dijk), we bought a goalkeeper for a decent amount (Alisson Becker for £65m). ). Our situation is still the same, we try to level it somehow (with sales), the things that we invest in the boys and in the players that we sell, stuff like that. is that it’s not outside of any form of forking and it’s worked that far, but I know, I hear it right away.
“I forgot I said it but people remind me of it and then I think, ‘Oh, okay, yeah…’ Honestly, I’ve said worse things in my life. me, but it’s true.
Klopp admits he was wrong
Speaking ahead of the new Premier League season, Klopp admitted his side had to spend big on Caicedo this summer to avoid being left behind by their rivals in the race for the top four.
He said: “Everything changed. Do I like it? No. Did I realise I was wrong? Yes. That’s the way it goes. Saudi Arabia will not help with that. In the end, we have to try and make sure we get the best possible team together.
“50 percent will like it and 50 percent won’t. We are trying to bring together the best squad for us. We cannot just point on players and bring them in, there is a lot of work to do. Sometimes one door closes and another opens up. If people want to throw my quotes from five years ago, no problem. I realise I was wrong.
