'We had to change': Jurgen Klopp clears up exactly who signed Darwin Nunez for Liverpool and why

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Having seen Michael Edwards exit the club in 2022, Nunez was viewed as being a departure from the data-led recruitment model which had been so successful under Klopp.Instead, there were suggestions that the former Liverpool manager was the driving force behind bringing Nunez to Anfield.Three years on, and with Klopp no longer part of the club, the German has finally cleared up who really wanted to sign Nunez for Liverpool and why.Photo by Jan Kruger/Getty ImagesJurgen Klopp did not sign Darwin Nunez aloneAt the time Nunez joined Liverpool, there was good reason to believe he could become a success.The then 22-year-old was coming off the back of a 34-goal season with Benfica and had bags of raw potential.READ MORE: What system Hugo Ekitike and Alexander Isak played together when thrown on for Liverpool vs Man UnitedCrucially, Nunez had impressed while playing against Liverpool in the Champions League, which was reported as being the tipping point for Klopp deciding to sign him.However, in a revealing two-and-a-half hour interview with Steven Bartlett’s Diary of a CEO, Klopp says Nunez was signed in collaboration with the recruitment team.“Exactly like before, we decided it all together involved in that process, that’s how it is nowadays,” he said.“We would have loved to have signed him for less money, of course, but in that moment it wasn’t possible. We had to change.“Luis Diaz, great, Cody Gakpo, great, what kind of player don’t we have?

We all signed him together, no problem to admit that it didn’t work out as good as it could, but without Darwin Nunez so many things wouldn’t have happened. “A striker who didn’t play as often definitely as he wants, so how can you have a fantastic relationship?” “I didn’t see that picture [of him sulking in the dressing room], I heard about it.

If he had have stood there and been the number one and jumping after me, crying his eyes out and hugging me for 10 minutes, I would have thought ‘okay, what’s going on here.’ Completely normal situation. “On my last day at Liverpool, if I would have been him, I would have thought as well, ‘okay, come on, the next one is a new chance for me,’ because players do that.