Chelsea manager Frank Lampard has laughed off criticism of his side's spending from Liverpool's Jürgen Klopp, insisting the Reds are not as different as the German may claim.
Klopp recently took a shot at Chelsea's heavy summer spending spree, which currently sits at close to the £200m mark, claiming that Liverpool don't behave like that and it is their commitment to being a unique club which has brought them success in the Champions League and Premier League.
? "We're a different kind of club"
— BBC 5 Live Sport (@5liveSport) September 9, 2020
? #LFC manager Jurgen Klopp defends the club's caution in the transfer market compared to title rivals "owned by countries and oligarchs".
?⚽ https://t.co/QfaBGi407M#bbcfootball pic.twitter.com/NYKYUkRMkN
The comments quickly attracted confusion from many who were quick to point out that Liverpool splashed out £75m on Virgil van Dijk and £67m to sign Alisson (among others) to get to where they are now, and Lampard raised that question during a press conference.
"I was less annoyed with it," he said (via Goal). "I found it slightly amusing because I think when you talk about the owners of clubs, I don’t think it matters what line of business they come from.
"With Liverpool’s story, I referenced it a lot last year. It’s a fantastic story of a club over the four-and-a-half or five years that Jürgen Klopp’s been there where they’ve managed to get recruitment right to a really high level.
"The reality is – other than maybe Leicester, which was an incredible story – most clubs that win the league in the modern day have recruited well and have recruited at quite a high-level money wise. You can go through the Liverpool players – Van Dijk, Alisson, Fabinho, Naby Keïta, Sadio Mané, Mohamed Salah.
"Incredible players that came at a very high price. Liverpool have done it over some time. What we have done is come off the back of a ban and probably try to address the situation ourselves to help improve us. It’s par for the course. We all know that. There’s no point doing the maths. We know that Liverpool have spent at a high level."
Lampard did, however, accept Klopp's comments about it not always being easy for new signings to gel immediately, insisting that now is the time for everyone at Stamford Bridge to put in work to come together as soon as possible.
A bust-up between Lampard and Klopp stole the headlines towards the end of last season, with Lampard accusing his Liverpool counterpart of arrogance after winning the Premier League title.
The pair will come face to face again on Sunday when Chelsea travel to Anfield, in what promises to be a thrilling affair.
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Source: 90min
