Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp: I’m cool enough to stay away from £80m transfer fees
Jurgen Klopp has lamented football's focus on the transfer market but believes he is cool enough to avoid its excesses.
The Liverpool manager claims he would never spend as much as £80m on a single player, as rivals Manchester United did on £89m summer signing Paul Pogba, unless he was convinced it was in the club's long-term interests.
Premier League teams spent more money than ever before in this year's transfer market, splashing out over £1bn in a single window for the first time.
Yet Liverpool's spending appeared restrained in comparison to some of their rivals. The Reds spent around £68m on new players, less than Tottenham, Arsenal, Chelsea, United and Manchester City.
Read more: Jose Mourinho takes aim at Jurgen Klopp over criticism of Paul Pogba transfer fee
"I would never make a decision for how it looks outside, to be safe," the German told the Daily Mail in an interview.
"Now everyone wants an £80m signing, or just the next signing, the latest signing. But I would never by a player for that – just to do it.
"We have bought enough and if I am convinced, I am convinced. It's for the good of the club, not for the good of me. I'm not that important."
Read more: Six charts that sum up the Premier League's record-breaking summer transfer window spending spree
In the same conversation Klopp detailed his confusion with the intense focus from fans and media on aspects of football beyond the pitch.
The German coach said his job is to be able to remain aloof from the headlines that accompany eye-catching transfers.
"This is a crazy time where football is, for some people, the most serious thing in the world, but no one really cares about it," said Klopp.
"Look at the transfers: all everyone wants to know is what happens. They never want to know what it means behind, for this team, for that team. It's just, 'come on – find me the next big signing'.
"To be cool enough to stay out of this colourful world around football, that is what I do. I'm not part of that, I'm not there, I don't enjoy it."