Jose Mourinho, the Manchester United manager, has challenged rivals Liverpool to make good on their summer of spending and win silverware this season.
Mourinho’s Anfield counterpart Jürgen Klopp has overseen the arrival of around £175m worth of talent this summer, with Alisson, Naby Keita, Fabinho and Xherdan Shaqiri all coming through the door.
Klopp has previously been a critic of heavy transfer spending, claiming that he preferred to “do things differently” after United’s £89m signing of Paul Pogba in 2016, but then said he had “changed his opinion” when confronted with those comments last week.
Mourinho, speaking after United’s pre-season penalty shoot-out win over Milan on Wednesday, accepted Klopp’s volte face but suggested that Liverpool’s spending means he counterpart must now deliver trophies at Anfield.
“The problem is you have to invest well and honestly I think they did very well, because every player they bought are quality players and I’m happy for them,” Mourinho said. “I’m also happy to smile and to see that you can change your opinion and change as a person, it’s funny.
“But that’s okay. But maybe this season finally you demand that they win. You have to be fair.
“Now you have to demand and say the team – with the investments you are making last season, that you made in January that you make now, that will probably be the record of the Premier League this season, a team that was a finalist in the Champions League – you have to say you are a big candidate, you have to win.”
