Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho questions Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk signing – “is he better than Paolo Maldini or Giuseppe Bergomi?”
The Reds completed a world record deal for the Dutch international this week, believed to be £75m [€84m], and he’ll join from Southampton when the transfer window opens.
Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho questions Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk signing – “is he better than Paolo Maldini or Giuseppe Bergomi?”
The Reds completed a world record deal for the Dutch international this week, believed to be £75m [€84m], and he’ll join from Southampton when the transfer window opens.
“If I was one of you I would ask him [Jurgen Klopp] about his comments about one year ago,” Mourinho said in his Press conference today, referencing the German’s comments about the deal which saw United sign Paul Pogba from Juventus.
“Not speaking specifically about this case because in Liverpool they do what they want, and I am nobody to comment about what they do, but the reality is if they think the player is the right player for them, and they really want the player, they pay this amount or they don't have the player.
“That's the way the market is.
“When we compare now the amount of money that certain managers and clubs spend, not even 10 years, but three years ago, is to compare the impossible.
“Now you are going to say Virgil van Dijk is the most expensive defender in the history of football. Was he better than Maldini, Bergomi or [Rio] Ferdinand? You cannot say that.
“It's just the way the market is. You pay or you don't pay. If you pay, you pay a crazy amount of money but if you don't, you don't have the player. It's as simple as that.
“No criticism at all about what Liverpool did. It's just the way it is.”