Jurgen Klopp is adamant Liverpool’s recruitment process remains a collaborative effort as he dismissed suggestions he is “angry” with Fenway Sports Group in the wake of the failed pursuit of Jude Bellingham. It emerged this week the Reds were no longer in the running to sign Bellingham this summer despite their long-standing interest having made them among the favourites to recruit the 19-year-old Borussia Dortmund midfielder. Bellingham’s price tag in excess of £100million was deemed prohibitive with Liverpool expected to sign at least two high-profile midfielders to address shortcomings exposed this season.
Jurgen Klopp said: “You know how the process is, what you want to know is as I sit here, am I angry that we can’t do this or that? No I am not. I am not, I don’t agree all the time with everything we do… but I am employed here. I am not here to be angry about things that will work out or not work out, if I am angry we don’t all of a sudden have more money, or whatever, resources to do everything. The way we did things in the past is the way we will do it in the future, that is the way. I cannot change that, and nobody could change that, by the way. Bring in a new manager, he sits there, that’s the numbers, and here we go – that’s the situation. It will not change. It is fine, we were pretty successful with that, it’s fine. When you have a budget and then someone tells you the prices then you can judge the budget or you increase the budget. What can you do? The decision about a budget comes from our owners and the other decision they have to come from us, so if the budget is the budget then you have to do what you have to do. There are a lot of things that are important in football, the budget is important and then timing is important, knowing when things can happen is important. Guarantees are important, ‘if we go for it will we get it?’ is important. If you put too much focus on something you only might get, all the rest of the market could be gone theoretically. These kind of things. These are important things. It’s a normal thing. It’s much easier to sit in your chair in the moment and judge, say ‘that’s not enough’ than (be) on the other side to decide what you use the money for. That’s it.”
Liverpool’s difficulties this season – they stand a whopping 12 points off the Champions League places with nine games remaining and could miss out on European qualification altogether – have made clear the extent of the rebuild this summer exceeds what was initially anticipated when they began seriously considering a move for Bellingham.
Jurgen Klopp said: “The first thing is when you are convinced about something and you want to do it, then you need to create a feeling that when the process is happening it can work out. If you don’t have that feeling then it just holds you back. You cannot fight for Kylian Mbappe from now on and say ‘that’s the only offensive player we want’ and you realise then he goes to Real Madrid or stays at PSG, as an example. That makes no sense. The prices you maybe know or maybe you don’t and prices change over times but that’s it.”
