- Liverpool's £110m bid accepted by Brighton
- Klopp vowed never to spend £100m on a player
- Admits he was "wrong" back in 2016
WHAT HAPPENED? The Reds gazumped Chelsea's pursuit of Brighton's Caicedo with a British-record £110 million ($140m) for the midfielder. The Ecuadorian is now set to ply his trade at Anfield where he will reunite with Alexis Mac Allister.
However, Klopp's 2016 comments on Manchester United's £89 million capture of Paul Pogba has come back to bite him after this transfer. The German even vowed that he would leave football if he spent £100m on a player.
"If you bring one player in for £100m and he gets injured, then it all goes through the chimney. The day that this is football, I'm not in a job anymore, because the game is about playing together. Other clubs can go out and spend more money and collect top players. I want to do it differently. I would even do it differently if I could spend that money," he had said.
But after Caicedo's transfer the manager admitted that he was "wrong" in his judgement and things have "changed" since then.
WHAT THEY SAID: "Everything changed. Do I like it? No. Did I realise I was wrong? Yes. That's the way it goes," he told reporters before facing Chelsea.
"Saudi Arabia will not help with that. In the end, we have to try and make sure we get the best possible team together. 50% will like it and 50% won't. We are trying to bring together the best squad for us. We cannot just point on players and bring them in, there is a lot of work to do. Sometimes one door closes and another opens up. If people want to throw my quotes from five years ago, no problem. I realise I was wrong," he added.
THE BIGGER PICTURE: Although Klopp confirmed that the Caicedo deal has been completed, he refrained from sharing if the player would have his medical on Friday which would then potentially make him available for the Chelsea game.
"The fee with the club is agreed. We will see what that means. We aren't a club with endless resources and we didn't expect a couple of things to happen this summer. Then it happened," he said.
On being pressed about Caicedo's medical he said: "I cannot say. I don't know."
IN TWO PHOTOS:
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(C)Getty ImagesWHAT NEXT? The Caicedo transfer saga has made Liverpool's Premier League opener against Chelsea even more exciting, as the Reds would try to triumph in the on-pitch battle after beating them off it.