Jose Mourinho accuses Jurgen Klopp of hypocrisy over £75m signing of Virgil van Dijk after Liverpool boss criticised £89m outlay for Paul Pogba

• e-mail

Jose Mourinho has accused Jurgen Klopp of hypocrisy over Liverpool’s £75million signing of Virgil van Dijk.

When Manchester United were pursuing a world record £89m deal for Paul Pogba last year, Klopp claimed he would rather walk away from football than pay so much for a player.

Mourinho believes the Anfield boss has contradicted himself by agreeing to make Van Dijk the most expensive defender in history when he joins Liverpool from Southampton next week.

 Virgil van Dijk became the most expensive defender in history, costing Liverpool £75million

Jose Mourinho has questioned Jurgen Klopp over his remarks about signing Paul Pogba 

‘The one to speak about it in a specific way has to be Jurgen,’ said Mourinho. ‘If I was one of you, I would ask him about his comments about one year ago.

‘This was the feeling that Jurgen had when he arrived at Liverpool. He trusted a lot his quality as a good coach, which he is. He trusted a lot his work.

‘Now he realises that is not enough. To be the champion, to win the Champions League, to win trophies, he needs more.

‘With Naby Keita (from RB Leipzig) that they already did for next summer, and Virgil van Dijk, who can also play in the Champions League, Liverpool realise they have to go to the crazy levels of the market.’

Van Dijk became the most expensive defender of all time with his move from Southampton 

Mourinho realises it, too, and has warned he will struggle to close the gap on Manchester City without the spending power of great rival Pep Guardiola.

With City 15 points ahead and racing away in the title race, Mourinho pointed to the £175m they have spent on two goalkeepers and three full-backs as an example of Guardiola’s advantage.

‘Pep arrived, he had the goalkeeper of England (Joe Hart) and he doesn’t like him,’ said the United manager. ‘He buys the goalkeeper of Barcelona (Claudio Bravo), he doesn’t like him. He buys another one (Ederson) and now he likes him.

‘He had (Pablo) Zabaleta and (Aleksandar) Kolarov, two very good players but more than 30 years old. He doesn’t replace with two, he replaces with three. One from Tottenham (Kyle Walker), one from Monaco (Benjamin Mendy), one from Real Madrid (Danilo), as an example.

Klopp said he will allow Van Dijk time to settle in when the Dutchman completes his move

‘Can we buy six or seven players at the same time? Can we invest £600-£700m? No, so it’s difficult.

‘In my first period at Chelsea everyone was saying money was making the difference. I don’t think it’s changed. Money makes a difference.’

Mourinho acknowledged that he has been backed by United to the tune of £300m that includes £89m spent on Paul Pogba and £75m on Romelu Lukaku.

He was also at pains to point out he is not being critical of the Old Trafford board. However, these appear to be the first signs of discord between the Portuguese and his employers.

Mourinho said it would be unfair to say the club didn't support him in the transfer market

The 54-year-old is believed to be unsure about United’s ambition to get back to the top of English football as they struggle to keep pace with City on every level.

He added: ‘It wouldn’t be very fair of me to say the club didn’t support, didn’t want to help, doesn’t want to win. The club invested a lot of money. The problem is not the money we invest, the problem is the money the others invest.

‘It’s the problem that others with better squads, with better stability, with more options, they keep investing. You think the club can buy six players for £100m each? I cannot expect the club to do that, so it’s not criticism.

‘You can see how the market is with the top teams. The market is going in such a direction or you belong to one of the clubs where there is no limit and you buy what you want. We bought a striker in the summer (Lukaku). 

SEVEN PLAYERS ON JOSE'S LIST

Advertisement

'But that good striker was to replace Zlatan (Ibrahimovic). We signed Victor Lindelof, we didn’t have Marcos Rojo. So when we are signing players, it’s to replace people. If next summer we are going to sign a midfield player, it will be to replace Michael Carrick. So to improve our squad in midfield, we would need to buy two.’

Mourinho believes United will still be able to challenge without huge investment, but admits it will take him longer to do it. ‘Yes, it’s possible,’ he said. ‘Sometimes if you don’t have that profile of club where there are no limits, and the only thing that matters is to get the best, even with that there is only one way which is patience and calm and time.’

Mourinho claimed on Friday he is unlikely to make any signings next month. However, Sportsmail can reveal he will have close to £100m to spend - but only if he can offload Henrikh Mkhitaryan for around £35m and Matteo Darmian for around £18m.

Mourinho insisted Pep Guardiola has an advantage due to Manchester City's spending power

He will only have £40m to spend in cash without any sales.

The players listed above are seven of his targets as United look for a full back, midfielder and winger.

Meanwhile, United face Southampton at Old Trafford on Saturday evening with Mourinho admitting he cannot rest Lukaku even though the exhausted striker has been criticised after scoring just four goals in his last 19 games.

‘The boy is tired,’ said the United boss. ‘Physically he’s a monster, but he’s not a machine and he’s feeling it.’   

CHRIS SUTTON: MOURINHO'S MOANING SMACK OF PETULANCE 

To complain about a lack of funds when you are 15 points behind in the title race smacks of petulance.

Jose Mourinho would have had more credibility if he had said that United could not compete with City at the beginning of the season.

To moan now is extremely defeatist and I cannot see any point in him doing so. Mourinho has spent close to £300million since the start of last season, including £89m on Paul Pogba and £75m on Romelu Lukaku.

Man United have spent nearly £300m under Mourinho - including £89m on Paul Pogba

Pep Guardiola may have spent more last summer but when you take into account the players both clubs sold, United’s net spend was actually greater. The fact is that not enough of Mourinho’s signings have stepped up.

Losing to Manchester City is not what has defined United’s season. What has cost them is defeat at Huddersfield and draws against Stoke, Leicester and Burnley - all sides who have considerably inferior spending power to United.

What must United fans think about their manager comparing them to their biggest rivals in such a negative way? It cannot fill them with much confidence.

They must be starting to question whether he is the right man for the job.

Advertisement