With Liverpool agreeing an English transfer record for Florian Wirtz, Jurgen Klopp‘s past comments have resurfaced and he’s sought to address them.
Despite Klopp no longer being in charge of Liverpool, his past comments continue to emerge any time the club act in opposition to his historic stances.
The £116 million package for Wirtz, in addition to a significant spending spree thus far, has seen Klopp’s comments used as a stick to beat the club with.
The viral comments in question pertain to Man United‘s £100 million deal for Paul Pogba in 2016: “The day that this is football, I’m not in a job anymore,” Klopp said. “Because the game is about playing together.”
As recent as 2023, Klopp admitted he was “wrong” and despite the football landscape shifting significantly in the nine years since his original comments, they are still brought up by rival fans and media outlets.
In an interview with German newspaper Welt, Klopp – in his usual no-nonsense manner – recognised the shift in the transfer market when asked about Liverpool’s deal for Wirtz.
“Some don’t get it (transfer money) straight away – and others don’t have to pay it directly. It shifts over the years,” Klopp started.
“But there’s no question about it, it’s an insane sum, and one that a player at Liverpool isn’t aware of if things don’t go well for two or three games.
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“We all agree that we’re talking about a great player here. I know I once said that I’m out if we pay 100 million euros for a player. But the world is changing. That’s just the way the market is.
“My part of football will always be the game itself, but if you want to play at the top level, you can’t train all your players yourself; you have to look elsewhere.
“Not everyone might like that. In English football, what sometimes happens in the transfer market has no impact on people’s emotions or their sense of belonging, of being part of the bigger picture.
“And it’s also true that a transfer like this doesn’t come along every day.”
Liverpool are held to strange expectations compared to other clubs competing for silverware, like Man City, when it comes to transfer spending but they at least do it the right way.
While there are those who seek to weaponise Klopp’s comments from nine years ago, the ex-Liverpool boss is the one moving with the times and masterfully disarming those who live in the past.
The club itself will take no notice and nor will Wirtz, with Liverpool firmly focused on building from a position of strength after lifting their 20th league title.
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