“It is not us” - Jurgen Klopp suggests 3 players Liverpool would have signed if they had unlimited money
Former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has said the club have signed Kylian Mbappe, Jude Bellingham and Erling Haaland if they had 'unlimited' money. Klopp left the Anfield helm at the end of the 2023-24 season.
Since his arrival in October 2015, the former Borussia Dortmund boss carved out a niche for himself with his distinct playing style and stellar accomplishments to boot. The affable German won every trophy at Anfield during his near decade-long stint, except for the UEFA Europa League, where he reached the final in his debut season.
Among his notable accomplishments include winning the club's first league title in the Premier League era, which he achieved in 2020. Of course, Klopp has made some superb signings, like Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Alisson, to name a few.
However, Reds owners, Fenway Sports Group, had a net spend of £345 million since Klopp's arrival in October, the lowest among the league's 'big six' clubs. The German said during his farewell event at the M&S Bank Arena (as per Guardian via Sport Bible) that the Reds could have the aforementioned trio with 'unlimited money':
"Can you imagine LFC as the club with unlimited money?. Imagine Kylian Mbappe came here. Imagine Bellingham came here, Haaland. It is not us. It just does not fit. We won what we won, and we did it the Liverpool way. We had hard conversations and other clubs didn’t do that in the same time."
The Klopp era at Anfield came to an end with a 2-0 home win over Wolverhampton Wanderers on the last day of the Premier League season on May 19. Former Feyenoord boss Arne Slot has been appointed as his successor.
How Liverpool fared in Jurgen Klopp's last season in charge?
Jurgen Klopp had a decent final season at Liverpool, but it could have been so much better, as the Reds were in contention for an unprecedented quadruple before falling short.
After leading the Premier League title race for several weeks, Klopp's side eventually finished third, nine points behind Manchester City, who became the first side to complete a Premier League four-peat.
The Reds were also eliminated in the FA Cup quarterfinals following a 4-3 extra time loss at eventual winners Manchester United. A similar fate befell them in the UEFA Europa League, where they lost 3-1 on aggregate to eventual winners Atalanta, failing to recover from a damaging 3-0 first-leg home loss.
They did win the EFL Cup in Klopp's final season in charge, beating Chelsea 1-0 in extra time.