Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp’s Man Utd comments show Ed Woodward has got priorities wrong
LIVERPOOL boss Jurgen Klopp has hinted he snubbed Manchester United because of the Red Devils’ emphasis on what goes on behind the scenes. Football, it seems, is not Ed Woodward’s No 1 priority.
Klopp: I'm excited to face Real Madrid in the final
Liverpool boss Klopp has revealed why he chose the Merseyside giants in 2015 despite rejecting Manchester United when they came calling the year before.
When quizzed directly on the Red Devils, he said: “I had talks with other clubs and they didn’t sound like a football club.
“It sounded like marketing, image, you need to sign this, you need to sign that. And I thought wow, that’s not the game I love.”
And Manchester United fans can be forgiven for falling out of love with football a little ever since Sir Alex Ferguson walked away in 2013.
These five years have been rough for those in the Streford End. For every trophy - and there have been three of them - there has been many more disappointments.
And Ed Woodward has a lot to answer for.
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Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp snubbed Manchester United and Ed Woodward in 2014
Manchester United have not been the same since Sir Alex Ferguson's retirement
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Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp is working wonders over at Anfield
Many feel United’s malaise is down to Ferguson’s departure. Obviously, losing arguably the best manager of all time was always going to have a negative impact.
But it seems more and more as if, unlike at Liverpool, United are paying more attention to the commercial side of the sport rather than sport itself.
In short, business is booming. Woodward opened up on that recently, saying the club had made a profit for the calendar year once again.
He also explained that, when it came to social media, the club were also thriving. The fastest-growing sports club channel to launch on YouTube. When Ferguson left, they did not even have a Twitter account.
Liverpool boss Klopp’s comments could also explain why United’s big-money signings have been so underwhelming for the past half a decade.
Did Louis van Gaal really want Angel Di Maria and Radamel Falcao? Given their failings at Old Trafford, the answer can assumed to be a no.
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Louis van Gaal never really seemed to want Radamel Falcao or Angel Di Maria
Angel Di Maria scores blinding hat-trick for PSG
Di Maria signed from Real Madrid in 2014 but never looked a Van Gaal player. He was not young at the time, nor happy to track back, and therefore it was no surprise that he lasted just a solitary year.
Falcao’s arrival that same summer still looks odd. Danny Welbeck was not admired by Van Gaal but his youth and potential was in fitting with the Dutchman’s style. Falcao, contrastingly, was older and had just recovered from a serious injury that cost him a place at the World Cup.
It’s okay, though. The club made money galore from their arrivals. In September that year, Falcao and Di Maria’s shirts were the most-bought across the entire country.
Under Jose Mourinho, it has been the same.
Pogba is his signing - the United boss wanted him during his time at Chelsea. But Woodward was maybe the one who wanted the France international to become the world’s most-expensive player - at the time.
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Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho has struggled to get the best from Paul Pogba
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Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has steered the Reds to the Champions League final
Eyebrows were understandably raised at his £89million return. That price tag, as much as Mourinho’s tame style of play, is why his second coming is yet to pay dividends.
Alexis Sanchez has also been another disappointment. United rolled out the red carpet with a glitzy video celebrating his signing. A video Woodward said gained more interaction than Neymar’s £200million move from Barcelona to PSG in August.
Liverpool are thriving under Klopp. They look the real deal, an entertaining and enterprising team fully deserving of their place in the Champions League final.
United, contrastingly, are stuck in a rut. Results on the pitch don’t matter as much as they used to. Whereas the title used to be the aim, it’s now okay just to finish in the top four.
Woodward needs to get tough with Mourinho if the Red Devils are to ever resemble their former selves. But that may be hoping for too much. Because it seems money is all that matters at Old Trafford these days, despite Pep Guardiola and Manchester City flourishing the other side of the city.