Núñez recently joined Liverpool from Benfica.
Jurgen Klopp has revealed why he broke his long-standing rule to sign Darwin Núñez from Benfica this summer.
Núñez joined Liverpool for a fee which eclipsed the €100m mark, something Klopp vowed he would never do while in charge as manager.
After Paul Pogba’s eye-watering move to Manchester United from Juventus in 2016, for a similar fee, Klopp criticised the move and said he would be ‘out of a job’ if he was to spend that much on one player.
“The day that this is football, I’m not in a job anymore, because the game is about playing together.”
Klopp revealed why he paid the big bucks to sign Núñez.
Six years on from that quote though and Klopp has done exactly what he said he wouldn’t do, but the 55-year-old explained why he chose to go against his own word.
“When you want to sign a striker as exciting as Darwin in, it’s the market and you have to pay the price,” he said.
“I’ve said so many things in my life and life caught me then later and showed me that my imagination was obviously not clear enough for how quick life can change.”
The value of the transfer market has increased significantly in recent years, largely as a result of Neymar’s record-breaking transfer to Paris Saint-Germain in 2017, causing clubs to inflate the prices of their biggest assets.
How Neymar's transfer to PSG caused Liverpool's rise, Barcelona's downfall, and hyper-inflation across the market 📈 💰 pic.twitter.com/pdzScSW9Pm
— FootballJOE (@FootballJOE) July 13, 2022
Some fans have already written off Núñez before the season has even properly started.
Liverpool fans were given the first sighting of their new signing on Tuesday as the Uruguay international featured in the final 30 minutes of the Reds’ 4-0 pre-season defeat to Manchester United.
Núñez missed a chance from close range and it appears some fans have already decided he is a waste of money, despite him scoring 34 goals last season, after watching a 20-second video of the forward missing a couple of chances in a training session.
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