Bellingham 'a Ferrari at Christmas' – Klopp makes Liverpool transfer stance clear

Tom Hancock

• Updated: 14 Apr 2023 10:57 BST
• 3 min read

News broke earlier this week that Liverpool had ended their pursuit of Jude Bellingham – and Jurgen Klopp has dropped a brilliant analogy to explain the Reds' decision.

For months, the Borussia Dortmund and England star had been strongly linked with a summer move to Anfield, but his reported valuation of €119m-plus appears to have deterred Liverpool.

Unsurprisingly, Klopp was quizzed on the latest development as he spoke to the media ahead of his side's trip to Leeds on Monday night.

READ MORE: Liverpool to battle Arsenal for midfield targets after Bellingham collapse

Asked about why Liverpool pulled out of the race for Bellingham, Klopp said:

"We cannot have six players [each worth] £100m, for example; everybody would say that's kind of clear. And that's the thing: you have to realise what you can do, and then you have to work with that – so, 'How much money do we have available?', and then you have to work with that. So, that's the job you have to do.

"We are not children. Ask a five-year-old at Christmas, 'What do you want for Christmas?' and they tell you,'I want to have a Ferrari', you wouldn't say, 'That's a good idea'; you would say, 'No, it's too expensive' and, anyway, you cannot drive it.

'Nothing else to say'

"And that's how it is: if this kid is then their whole life unhappy because he cannot get a Ferrari, that would be a really sad life.

"[It's a case of] just what can you do, and then you do it, and then you work with that. [I have] nothing else to say about [it] – and that was always how I worked.

"What we need and what we want, we do absolutely everything to get it – but there are moments when you have to accept that this or that is not possible for us, and then we'll just step aside and do different stuff."