WATCH: 'Ask him about his comments' - Jose Mourinho pokes fun at Jurgen Klopp over Virgil van Dijk deal
Jurgen Klopp and Jose Mourinho
Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has poked fun at Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp after he gave a green light to the £75m deal to bring Virgil van Dijk to Anfield.
Klopp questioned United’s decision to pay £89m to sign Paul Pogba from Juventus in the summer of 2016 and hinted that he would not pay such a lofty fee for a single player.
“If you bring one player in for £100m and he gets injured, then it all goes through the chimney,” said Klopp as he reflected on the Pogba deal.
Now Mourinho has reminded him of those snipes, as he deviously highlighted what he clearly views as the hypocrisy of the Liverpool boss in a week when he has broken the transfer record for a defender to sign Van Dijk.
“You know, I think the one’s that speak about it in a specific way has to be Jurgen,” said Mourinho when asked about his plans for the January transfer window.
“If I was one of you (directed at reporters), I would ask him about his comments one year ago, but not speaking specifically about that case because in Liverpool they do what they want to do and I am nobody to comment on what they do.”
Mourinho insisted Klopp and Liverpool should not be criticised for their lavish investment in Van Dijk, but he argued his club came under fire for paying what was then a world record fee to snap up Pogba.
“The reality is that if they think that the player is the right player for them and they really want the player, they pay his amount or they don’t have the player,” he added.
“That is the way the market is at that time so when we compare now the amount of money certain managers and club spend try to compare that I am not saying with 10 years ago but three years ago is to compare the impossible.
“You cannot compare the realities. Virgil van Dijk is the most expensive defender in history of football, was he better than (Paolo) Maldini, (Giuseppe) Bergomi or (Rio) Ferdinand?
“You cannot say that, is just the way the market is and you pay or you don’t pay.
“If you pay obviously you pay a crazy amount of money but if you don’t you don’t have the player. Is as simple as that, so no critics at all about what Liverpool did, is just the way it is.”
