Jurgen Klopp joked that he would only speak about it with a lawyer present when questioned about Chelsea’s record-breaking January transfer window.
The Blues bought eight players last month and broke the British transfer record when they acquired Enzo Fernandez from Benfica for £106.8 million, backed by billionaire chairman and co-owner Todd Boehly.
The clubs in the top divisions of Italy, Germany, France, and Spain spent a combined total of £323 million less than Chelsea did this season.
In response to a question on the west London club’s operations during a press conference prior to the Reds’ trip to Wolves, Jurgen Klopp said: “I say nothing without my lawyer! No, I’m joking.”
“I don’t understand this part of the business, like what you can do and what you cannot do. They are all really good players, so from that point of view, congratulations.”
“I don’t understand how it’s possible, but it’s obviously not for me to explain how it works.”
“It will happen at some point that they will play well together, but how quick, I don’t know.”
Guardiola Had A Different Thought From Jurgen Klopp
Since Pep Guardiola was hired in the summer of 2016, Manchester City has spent £1.1 billion, which has helped them win four Premier League championships, four EFL Cups, the FA Cup, and two Community Shields.
Over the same time span, they sold players for a combined £568.6 million, bringing their net outlay to £487.9 million.
It puts them in fourth place in the Premier League, after Arsenal (£572.5m), Manchester United (£827m), and Chelsea (837.9m).
Footballers have criticized City for their investment’s success. When asked to comment on whether City had spent the same amount as Chelsea this season, Guardiola responded: “I know what would happen.”
“Being the fifth or sixth in the Premier League on net spend, we won 11 trophies, four Premier Leagues in five years. That’s what really counts for us. What Chelsea have done, what the other clubs have done, is none of my business. We know exactly what we are working on.”
“Of course, we need good players like Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool, United all believe that – without good players, you cannot compete, not just here in the Premier League but in Europe. You have to spend. Now the market is ‘wow’, it’s a lot.”
“What Chelsea decide to do is not my business. There are regulations and rules, I don’t forget, eight or nine teams sent a letter to the Premier League [for us] to be banned [in 2020, when City were found to be in breach of Financial Fair Play regulations].”
“That happened to us when we are the fifth team in net spend in the last five years when we were winning titles. This is the reality.”
Regarding whether he believes City is the only team receiving criticism, Guardiola added: “Where we come from, for sure, definitely.”
Chelsea’s Record January
In a remarkable window, Chelsea broke the British transfer record, spent more than the other four major leagues put together, and had both successes and failures.
Chelsea’s current issue is that, given the club’s great recent recruitment drive, the song might have been directed at any one of manager Graham Potter’s players.
Three days after completing his record-breaking deal from Benfica, Fernandez made an impact in his defensive midfield role for the London club, pushing Chelsea’s spending on transfers since the end of the previous season above the £600 million mark.
However, the unfortunate truth for Chelsea and Potter is that a starting lineup that cost a total of £470 million once again fell short.
With eight league victories in 21 games, Chelsea is ninth in the standings, nine points back of fourth-place Manchester United for the final Champions League spot.
They have only scored 22 goals, somewhat more than their one-goal-per-game average.
Therefore, despite all of their investment, Chelsea do not even achieve much.
Because of Chelsea’s expensive and limitless spending, there have been rumors that FIFA and UEFA are preparing to enact new laws that would stop clubs from skirting Financial Fair Play (FFP) requirements by paying for players over the course of abnormally long contracts.
