Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp defends club’s spending after splurge by rivals
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has celebrated the extension of the contract with star defender Virgil van Dijk and defended the fact that the club does not spend money on players compared to some of its rivals.
Manchester City signed Jack Grealish for a Premier League record 100 million pounds ($138.08 million), Chelsea recruited Romelu Lukaku for 97.5 million, while Manchester United brought in Jadon Sancho for 85 million euros ($99.90 million).
Liverpool have brought in defender Ibrahima Konate for a reported 41 million euros but are otherwise focused on extending the contracts of their key players.
“We all know the situation of Chelsea, of City and PSG for example,” said the manager, referring to Lionel Messi’s new employers in Paris. “What United is doing I don’t know exactly how they do it.
“We have obviously our way to do it. And that was always the same since I am in. We are allowed to spend the money we earn. That’s what we always did,” he told reporters ahead of Liverpool’s season-opening game at promoted Norwich City.
“I am never surprised about the financial power of Chelsea or City or United. I am long enough in the country to know that they always find a solution to do these kind of things. For us it’s our way. We keep the team together.”
Klopp was asked specifically why Liverpool hasn’t replaced Georginio Wijnaldum, who ran down his contract and opted to join PSG in the off-season, and said he had enough options in his squad to cover for the loss of the Netherlands midfielder.
Young players Curtis Jones and Harvey Elliott are set to play bigger roles in the squad this season.
“I’m in my sixth year here and pretty much apart from the year we signed Ali (Alisson) and Virg (Van Dijk), it’s always the same — it looks like always we don’t sign enough, we don’t do enough,” Klopp said. “But I think the most important thing, and I think the fans agree with this, is having a group together who is fun to watch, fighting together, who is definitely 100% committed to the club and the values. We have that.
“We cannot just add on players to the squad and say, ‘Let’s have a look how that works.’ You have to deal with the squad the whole year.”
Liverpool won the league by 18 points in the 2019-20 season, only to finish third last season in trailing home 17 points behind City.
