Premier League: Liverpool 'not owned by oligarchs' unlike rivals, says Jurgen Klopp

Liverpool head coach Jurgen Klopp said that his club is "different" from some of its rivals as far as how they are dealing with the ongoing transfer window. According to Klopp, this is because the Reds aren't owned by "oligarchs or countries."

During the ongoing transfer window, the Reds have signed only Kostas Tsimikas in a £11.7 million deal. In contrast, Chelsea has already spent about £200 million. It is expected that the Blues might continue to sign some more players.

In a recent interview, Klopp said that the COVID-19 crisis has created uncertainty, but not for some clubs. He believes the main reason behind Liverpool's recent success is that they were being themselves.

According to BBC, the 53-year old German said, "Clubs are in different situations and we are living in uncertainty in the world. For some clubs, it seems to be less important how uncertain the future is because they are owned by countries, owned by oligarchs, and that is the truth. We are a different kind of club. We reached the Champions League final two years ago, won it the following year, and won the Premier League by being the club we are. We cannot change that overnight and say 'we want to behave like Chelsea'."

Last summer, Liverpool spent £1.3 million to acquire Dutch defender Sepp van den Berg from PEC Zwolle. The Reds also signed goalkeepers Adrian and Andy Lonergan on free transfers, before bringing Red Bull Salzburg's Japanese forward Takumi Minamino to Anfield for £7.25 million in January.

Klopp's side finished their 2019-20 Premier League campaign 18 points clear of Manchester City. In the process, they won their first league title in 30 years. In comparison, Chelsea finished 33 points behind the Reds in fourth spot.

Last summer, Chelsea were unable to sign anyone, courtesy of a FIFA transfer ban. The ban was initially imposed for two windows, but later it was halved on an appeal in December 2019. As a result, the Blues were allowed to sign players from January this year.

As the 2020 season approaches, Frank Lampard's side has already signed Ajax winger Hakim Ziyech for £33.3 million, RB Leipzig forward Timo Werner for approximately £48 million, Bayer Leverkusen's attacking midfielder Kai Havertz for £71 million, Leicester City left-back Ben Chilwell for £45 million, besides bringing in Paris Saint-Germain centre-back Thiago Silva on a free transfer.

On the other hand, last season's runners-up Manchester City has signed Bournemouth centre-back Nathan Ake for £40 million and Valencia winger Fernan Torres for £21 million.