Jurgen Klopp takes a dig at 'money hungry' players after failure to land Julian Draxler
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has hit out at players who are ‘money hungry’ after recently losing out to Paris Saint-Germain on German attacker Julian Draxler.
“We believe that if someone needs to be convinced by money, then at one point – when you really need character – you will not get it,” Klopp said after the confirmation of Draxler’s move to France.
“Players should know they can earn really serious money here, reasonable money here, but we will not go nuts. We want to convince players about the special character of the club,” said the Liverpool manager.
Also Read: PSG agree deal to sign Draxler from Wolfsburg
“Nobody has to leave Liverpool because of money. Maybe there are a few clubs in world football who can play better and if you can go there, these few clubs, yeah then do it,” he said.
“But for all the rest this should be the best place to be. I may have rose-tinted glasses but I would say at the moment that LFC is a really good place to be for a player to develop.”
Reds are looking to bolster their squad
Liverpool were looking at this transfer window to bolster their options to catch up with Chelsea in the race for the Premier League title, especially considering one of their important players, Sadio Mane, prepares to depart for the Africa Cup of Nations, which could see the player miss the entirety of the first month of January 2017 for the Reds.
The Anfield club were said to be in the running for Draxler but eventually lost out on the player to Qatari-backed French club after the German preferred the massive wages offered to him by the Paris club. This comes shortly after Chelsea’s squad player Oscar secured a big money transfer to Chinese club Shanghai SIPG for a reported £60million fee, earning a ridiculous wage of £400,000 per week.
Don’t want to convince players with money: Jurgen Klopp
He continued stating the importance of the project Liverpool have in the coming years, “I can say we don’t want to convince players with money. We want to convince them with the way we go.
“We want to have players who are ready to develop and it’s not a message for the winter transfer window, it’s a message for the next few years. We have already really good players and if someone wants to be part, they are welcome,” he concluded.
Also Read: Twitter mocks Arsenal as long term target Julian Draxler joins PSG
The Liverpool manager is understandably perturbed by the recent transfer figures and the wages offered by clubs with large coffers across Europe and China.