JURGEN KLOPP has compared Liverpool’s failure to sign Jude Bellingham to a child not getting a Ferrari at Christmas.
The Reds had been interested in signing the England international but as Klopp argued, a move proved to be too expensive.
PAJurgen Klopp has said Jude Bellingham is too expensive for Liverpool[/caption]
AlamyHe compared the potential deal to giving a child a Ferrari at Christmas[/caption]
GettyBellingham is expected to make a big summer transfer[/caption]
Liverpool are keen to add to their midfield options this summer and Bellingham, 19, would have been an ideal option.
However, the club will have to move on to new targets.
Klopp, 55, was asked about the interest in the Borussia Dortmund star, and at first refused to discuss the speculation.
He said: “If I don’t speak about players we sign and don’t sign, why would I now speak about this kind of speculation? Really nothing to say about it.
“It’s not about Jude Bellingham now, my answer now. Definitely not.”
The German was pressed on the matter and he gave in to elaborate on the club’s position.
He compared the potential transfer to a child asking for a Ferrari for Christmas, something that would not be “a good idea”.
He added: “I never understood why we constantly talk about things we theoretically cannot have.
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“We cannot have six players in the summer, where everyone is £100 million, for example. That’s kind of clear.
“You have to realise what you can do and then work with that.
“We are not children, if you ask a five-year-old what they want for Christmas and they tell you I want to have ‘a Ferrari’, you wouldn’t say that’s a good idea.
“It’s too expensive and, anyway, you cannot drive it.
“That’s how it is. If this kid is then unhappy his whole life because he cannot get a Ferrari it would be a really sad life.
“It’s just what can you do, and you work with that, nothing else to say about it.
“It’s always how I worked. What we need and want, we try absolutely everything to get it.
“But there are moments you have to accept that this or that is not possible for us, and you step aside and do different stuff.”
Dortmund are believed to have set an asking price of £130million for Bellingham.
Liverpool could now turn to cheaper targets such as Mason Mount, Youri Tielemans, who is available on a free transfer, and Bayern Munich star Gravenberch.
That is a bonus for the likes of Manchester United and Chelsea, both of whom hold a long-term interest in Bellingham.