Liverpool gaffer Jurgen Klopp takes a dig at Manchester City and their spending habits

Speaking in his pre-match press conference (h/t Sky Sports) ahead of Sunday’s big game against Manchester City in the Premier League, Liverpool gaffer Jurgen Klopp spoke about his rival’s spending power and took a dig at the same.

Ever since their takeover back in 2008 by Abu Dhabi’s Sheikh Mansour, Manchester City have spent big bucks to virtually “buy” the Premier League. The club has won six league titles since the influx of Saudi money, and also have the highest net spend of any club over the last decade.

It does not take a very smart man to understand what Klopp meant in his conference. Taking nothing away from what Pep Guardiola has achieved at the club, but with the financial backing, it would be very tough not to win the league every second season.

Here is what Klopp had to say about his rival’s spending power

“It’s just clear: there are three clubs in world football who can do what they want financially. It’s legal, everything is fine, but they can do whatever they want. Competing with them? It’s not possible to deal with that.”

Heavy spending Manchester City

This season as well, at the face of it Erling Haaland’s transfer set City back by £51m, but including bonuses, agent fees and the miscellaneous expenses behind a transfer, it would have set them back marginally.

They spent £100m on signing Jack Grealish, and just the next season, got on board Haaland and Kalvin Phillips, the latter costing £45m. The spin here is not the transfer fees, but the heavy wage bill as well, which makes competing with Guardiola’s side tougher than it already is.

Even though Liverpool have spent heavily on Darwin Nunez’s transfer, it was the first time in a long while that the Reds splurged so much money on a single player. The Reds’ owners do not believe in spending money left right and centre and it shows.

While that is something why we have been so successful in our transfer strategies, it has at times limited Klopp’s ability to compete for the title. This season as well, for example, Liverpool needed to sign a dynamic midfielder but failed to splash the cash to make it happen.

However, we cannot use the strengths of other clubs as an excuse and continue to do well despite our handicaps. But having said that, Klopp is an extraordinary manager, who deserves more backing than what he has got with FSG at the helm.

More Liverpool News

• Liverpool gaffer Jurgen Klopp calls facing Manchester City the biggest challenge in football
• Jurgen Klopp talks about Roberto Firmino’s form ahead of the match against Manchester City
• Peter Crouch believes Liverpool versus Manchester City feels like a little one-sided game

Nevertheless, the actual battle is on the pitch and not the war of words. It is important for the Reds to get a positive result this weekend, as this is a fixture which could shape Liverpool’s season going forward this season.