Throughout his time as Liverpool manager, Jurgen Klopp has made a habit of commenting about other clubs’ transfer spending while making himself out to be some sort of purist who only relies on tactics to succeed.
Time and time again, Klopp has reiterated that Liverpool “will never overspend” on transfers.
In 2016, the German tactician raised eyebrows when he spoke out on Manchester United’s then British record signing of French midfielder Paul Pogba for £89 million from Juventus.
“If you bring one player in for £100m and he gets injured, then it all goes through the chimney,” Klopp said at the time.
“The day that this is football, I'm not in a job anymore, because the game is about playing together... Other clubs can go out and spend more money and collect top players. I want to do it differently. I would even do it differently if I could spend that money.”
On Friday, Klopp’s 2016 comments made him look like a hypocrite after Liverpool reached an agreement with Brighton and Hove Albion to sign Equadorian midfielder Moises Caicedo for a British record £110 million.
What made the German look even more foolish was the fact that earlier in the off-season, they turned down an opportunity to sign Jude Bellingham, who eventually moved to Real Madrid for a little unde £90 million.
The club said the reason they pulled out of the Bellingham deal was because they had been priced out. That was clearly not the case when they out-bid Chelsea for the Brighton midfielder, who last season, had done everything in his power to secure a move to Arsenal.
At just 20, Bellingham arguably has a higher ceiling than the 21-year-old Caicedo, and already ranks among the top midfield players in the game today. While Caicedo is a player with a bright future ahead of him, surely it would have been a wiser decision for the Reds to break the bank on Bellingham.
In a press conference ahead of their Premier League opener, Klopp admitted that his view on Pogba was wrong. It’s not a good look. Hopefully in future, he will not feel compelled to voice his two cents over other clubs’ activity in the transfer market.
IOL Sport
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