Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has attempted to pile the pressure on Liverpool by calling on the media to “demand they win” the Premier League this season.
The Merseysiders have spent heavily in recent months as they try to improve on last season’s fourth-place finish.
Having signed Virgil van Dijk for a reported £75million in January and with a deal in place to spend £52.75m on Naby Keita, Liverpool have subsequently splashed out £40m on Fabinho, £56.25m on Alisson and £13.2m on Xherdan Shaqiri.
That level of spending brings expectation, according to Mourinho, and he is keen to ensure Jurgen Klopp is made aware he has to deliver.
“You have to be fair and now you have to demand and say the team with investments that they started making last season, not just this season, I don’t see another team getting close to that level of investment, a team that was a finalist in the Champions League, you have to say you are a big candidate.
“You have to win.”
At the time, Klopp said he would be uneasy at spending such an amount, prompting Mourinho to say: “I think if you have the money, if you invest well, is better than to have it in the bank, because the interest is very low.
“The problem is you have to invest well and honestly I think they did very well because every player they have bought is a quality player and I’m happy for them.
“And I’m also happy to smile and to see that, you know, you can change your opinion and change as a person. It’s funny. But that’s okay.”
Mourinho also confirmed the defender Matteo Darmian wants to leave United. “Matteo wants to leave and when a player wants to leave, if the right offer arrives, you have to try to be human and let the player follow his instinct but not at any price,” he said, before discussing his lack of options at right-back.
“Until now the offers we got for Matteo are not even close to being accepted. [Antonio] Valencia is injured and he will be injured for the beginning of Premier League, Diogo Dalot is also in the recovering phase, he will not be ready for beginning of Premier League.
“Ashley Young is a possibility to play right-back but he is on holiday. I don’t know if he fancies to be back for that and put himself to be available for the team or stay on holiday. Victor Lindelöf is a possibility, he is not a right-back but he is a possibility – he starts training next Monday. I will send people to Manchester to train with Victor, it makes no sense for him to come to the US.
“So if Matteo leaves he leaves because the right offer arrives and if he stays, he can be important for us.”