Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp says that Erling Haaland 's impending transfer to Manchester City will "set new levels".
The 21-year-old is on the verge of leaving Borussia Dortmund in an overall package worth more than £200million. Mirror Football understands that the blockbuster move is a done deal after a medical was completed in Belgium and Klopp, who recently agreed to stay at Anfield for another four years, has given his take to Sky Sports.
"If Erling Haaland goes there, it will not weaken them - definitely not," the Reds boss began. "I think it's been spoken about enough and at the moment it's a lot of talk about money but this transfer will set new levels, let me say it like that."
Klopp added: "I signed a new contract knowing that City will not stop developing, so it's not about if City keep flying whether we can be happy or not. It's about us and what we can make of it. We have so many opportunities and so many different ways to win a football game, and we to find just one. That's possible, obviously, and we can do that."
While Liverpool will worry about handling Haaland, who has scored sensational 85 goals in 89 games for Dortmund, Pep Guardiola can look forward to adding Europe's best young striker to his attacking arsenal. The Citizens fended off competition from Barcelona, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich to seal his signature and are set to pay his £64.2million release clause after agreeing personal terms.
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Haaland's five-year deal will therefore see him pocket a whopping £104m between now and 2027, with add-ons and performance-related bonuses expected to take City's investment over the £200m mark.
What makes the Norwegian's move so expensive are his eye-watering wages that will make him one of the Citizens' top earners upon arrival. Haaland will earn £400,000-a-week, putting him on a par with star midfielder Kevin De Bruyne and ahead of England forwards Raheem Sterling and Jack Grealish.
Those finances were why Barcelona could not compete with the Premier League champions, with manager Xavi Hernandez opening up on their financial predicament on Monday. "It is very difficult because of the economic situation," the Spaniard admitted ahead of the Blaugrana's game against Celta Vigo. "I can't lie to you, that is the reality.
"I wouldn't say [it is only down to money]. I am not going to disrespect other clubs' sporting projects. We are not the only club with a good project. City have won a lot of titles and compete at the top level. But if what you say happens [and Barca miss out on Haaland], it would have been because of financial issues."
