.. AND HIS BIG RIVALS CHAMPIONS UNABLE TO BUY BIG
Having impressed at Mainz, Klopp was attracting interest from the likes of Bayern Munich when Dortmund signed him up in 2008, just after they finished 13th in the Bundesliga.
In his first season they finished sixth and he signed Mats Hummels for a steal at £3.5million.
Signed striker Robert Lewandowski as a 22-year-old in 2010 for £4m, as well as bringing in Shinji Kagawa.
Sir Alex Ferguson:
Jose Mourinho:
Pep Guardiola:
Lewandowski marked his debut season in 2010-11 with eight league goals but it was the 16 from Lucas Barrios that spearheaded the charge to a first title since 2002.
Forced to sell his best player in Nuri Sahin to Real Madrid, he simply went out and unearthed two diamonds in 20-year-old Ilkay Gundogan and 22-year-old Ivan Perisic, for £4m each. Lewandowski scored 22 league goals that season, Kagawa got 13, Perisic chipped in with seven and youngster Gundogan made a name for himself playing 28 Bundesliga games as they won back-to-back championships. the coronavirus crisis would be on all financial parts of life. It’s not only football, we all will pay a bill in the end,” he said.
“Nobody knows exactly how big the bill will be. Hopefully, it is over soon, but we should not start taking for granted it all will be fine.
“We cannot spend millions and millions and millions because we want to, or we think it is nice to do. We never wanted that.
“The reality is Covid has influenced both sides with ins and outs. It’s not likely to be the most busy summer in the world.”
Klopp believes that applies to all clubs – and that is good news for Liverpool, because their biggest rivals, like Manchester City and United, may also pull back, where before the crisis they may well have splashed mega-millions.
And he promised Liverpool supporters his team will be competitive, even if they do not bring in the star signings so many fans expect.
“But this squad... look at it,” he said. “It is not a squad you have to change now and say, ‘OK, we need this position and this position’.
“If you are a football supporter, you want a back-up for him and him – even if you are completely happy with everyone, you want back-ups.
“The problem with a strong squad is how do you improve it in the transfer market? You have to be creative and we try to be creative. We try to find solutions internally.
“We don’t have a first 11, we have a first 16 or 17, they can all play to the same level. But we have to use this, 100 per cent. And what we want to create are our transfers internally.”
Klopp also insisted he won’t lose any of his biggest stars, despite Mo Salah, Sadio Mane and Virgil van Dijk (above) all being linked to Europe’s powerhouses.
“We are very confident about keeping this team together,” he added.