Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp: No chance we would pay Neymar-type fee

Jurgen Klopp insists Liverpool’s strikers are more worried about winning games, rather than who scores the most goals this season.

Real Madrid’s Sergio Ramos believes Jurgen Klopps comments about his collision with Mo Salah were out of frustration because Liverpool lost the Champions League final.

Jurgen Klopp has told kicker there would be “no chance” that Liverpool would spend an amount similar to the world-record €222 million (£198.5m) Paris Saint-Germain paid for Neymar last year.

Klopp spoke out against high transfer fees after Manchester United paid £89.3m for Paul Pogba in 2016, but said this summer that he had changed his mind.

Following Philippe Coutinho’s £142m departure to Barcelona in January, Liverpool have invested heavily this summer, signing Naby Keita, Fabinho, Xherdan Shaqiri and goalkeeper Alisson for a combined total of around £170m.

But asked about the possibility of Liverpool’s owners, Fenway Sports Group, sanctioning a fee similar to that spent by PSG on Neymar, Klopp said: “No chance, no chance, no chance.

“We are not owned by a state like it’s the case at two big clubs. We have our limits.”

And questioned about whether Fenway could fulfill every transfer wish, Klopp said: “No. We have a conservative leadership.”

He added: “It feels like €100m back then is €500m today. When Neymar joined PSG for €222m, I shook myself.

“Back then I had an opinion, but an incredible lot has happened since. In 2017, Neymar joined Paris, Philippe Coutinho and Ousmane Dembele joined Barcelona for a lot of money, and Kylian Mbappe [joined] Paris.

“This opened the whole thing, the money’s on the market. Now, if Liverpool wants a player, the other clubs want a bit of the cake too. That’s the story.

“And you must also keep in mind that players like Mo Salah, Sadio Mane or Robert Firmino, players we bought for €30m to €40m, have a different value on the transfer market these days. That’s part of the business.”

Liverpool, who boast the world’s most expensive defender in Virgil van Dijk, paid a then world-record fee for Roma’s Alisson in July.

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