Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola have been surprised how Chelsea were able to spend £323million during the January transfer window.
After a month of huge spending, Chelsea wrapped up their business with Enzo Fernandez from Benfica on deadline day, who joined for a record £107m fee.
Liverpool meanwhile spent only £44m on Cody Gakpo, while Man City paid only £8m for 20-year-old Argentine midfielder Maximo Perrone.
Guardiola, ahead of City’s trip to Tottenham, defended his team’s heavy spending in recent years, and also suggested he was surprised as Chelsea are not a ‘state club’.
Meanwhile, Klopp in his own press conference ahead of Liverpool’s game with Wolves, said he’d say ‘nothing without his lawyer’.
Klopp told the media: ‘I say nothing without my lawyer. I don’t understand this part of the business but it’s a big number.
‘They are all really good players so congratulations. I don’t understand how it’s possible, but it’s not for me to explain how it works.’
- Mason Greenwood included in Man Utd’s latest Premier League squad list
- Benfica requested Chelsea include £40m player in deal for Enzo Fernandez
- Tomiyasu names ‘aggressive’ Arsenal teammate he doesn’t like facing in training
Guardiola used his press conference to defend the criticism regarding City’s spending over recent years.
He repeated the statements he made last month about Man City only being ‘fifth or sixth’ in the Premier League’s net spending in recent years.
When asked about Chelsea, Guardiola said: ‘(It’s) None of my business. It’s a surprise because it’s not a state club. We won 11 titles in the last five years being one of the five or six net spend teams in the league.’
When asked how people would have reacted City if paid out how much Chelsea spent, he said: ‘I know what would happen.
‘What I said, being the last fifth or sixth in the Premier League being net spending, we won 11 trophies – four Premier Leagues in five years.
‘What Chelsea have done is none of my business. We know what we are working to. What Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool, United, without good players you have to spend.
‘Now the market is wow. What they do is not my business. There are regulations, I don’t forget, eight or nine teams send a letter to be banned. We are the fifth team in net spend.’
In total, the Blues made eight new signings during the January transfer market – one of which being Joao Felix on loan from Atletico Madrid.
Other new additions included Badiashile, Andrey Santos, David Datro Fofana, Mudryk, Noni Madueke and Malo Gusto.
The new signings could now give Chelsea an edge over Klopp’s Liverpool in the Premier League – with the Reds only ahead on goal difference, albeit, nine in the table.
