Simon Jordan’s Liverpool transfer spend stance makes Pep Guardiola comments look even worse

Jurgen Klopp should be “admired” rather than chastised for the manner in which his Liverpool side have spent money in recent seasons, according to talkSPORT pundit Simon Jordan.

The Reds have come under heightened scrutiny in recent days as they close in on a reported £85million deal for Benfica striker Darwin Nunez, with many detractors referencing past comments from Klopp in which he stated that he would never spend £100 million on a single transfer.

But Jordan has hit back at the German’s critics, and insists that Liverpool continue to represent a paragon of financial sustainability at the highest level due to their relatively low net spend.

Speaking on talkSPORT, the former Crystal Palace chairman said: “I don’t understand this argument that people get offended by.

“Net spend is the end game. If you’re running a business, it’s about what a business will cost you and so if someone spends £100million a year net spend and someone spends £20million a year net spend and they achieve the same thing, the team who spent less is a better run football club.

“The argument about Liverpool being under-scrutinised, well everyone is scrutinised and if you’re in one camp you’re going to say that you’re being more scrutinised than if you’re in the other, but as a matter of fact, Guardiola spends £100million a year net spend and Klopp spends £28million, and of course they’re neck and neck.

“If you want to run the argument about how many trophies you get from it, if you’re going to spend four times the amount of money in the same timespan as manager then you’re probably likely to achieve four times the outcome.

“It’s good business. They went and sold Coutinho for £142million and brought in Virgil van Dijk and brought in Alisson with other people’s money.”

Jordan added: “If what you spend and what you buy is how effective you are as an operation and Liverpool are able to sell players but still progress by using other people’s money, for the love of god surely that’s good and to be admired.

“Yeah they spend big money, but they spend money that other people have paid them to buy new players with.”

As referenced by Jordan, Liverpool’s nearest rivals, Manchester City, boast a considerably higher net spend than the Reds, and have just paid out another sizeable fee to bring Norwegian forward Erling Haaland to the club.

The Premier League champions also had the highest wage bill in the division last season, coming in at a staggering £355 million. By comparison, Liverpool’s expenditure on salaries was £314 million - lower than City, Chelsea, and Manchester United.

But City manager Pep Guardiola has been quick to defend his side’s spending habits in the wake of Haaland’s arrival.

Speaking to Sky Sports, he said: “For the people, it’s just money.

“If you want to think about that, think about that.

“But I know exactly how we are working here. Okay, don’t give me credit, don’t give us credit, but let us give ourselves credit and as a manager [let me] give it to my players, to my staff.

“Listen, when Liverpool in the ‘70s or ‘80s, or United, who spend more money? It was Norwich? Norwich spend more money in that period? Or Leicester spend more money on them? No, they [Liverpool and United] spend more money than the other ones, but the money for them is completely different from now.

“I am going to change it. When we put Etihad here [front of shirt], ‘Aw, it’s overpaid.’

“But now United and Liverpool or whoever is going to pay more maybe they deserve it because they’re working well, because the CEO negotiates well, whatever happens, then more because it’s for the United States of America or another country, the owners, so now it’s perfect.

“That’s why we’re going to change, but for a long time it’s not going to change, that is the reality. Only way we can change is doing well on the pitch.”