"We needed players" - Pep Guardiola hits back at Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp's claims on Manchester City's spending spree

Pep Guardiola has hit back at Jurgen Klopp's claims that Manchester City can "out-buy" Liverpool in the transfer market, giving them an advantage over their rivals.

Pep Guardiola was not happy with Klopp's remarks and said that Manchester City needed strengthening this season, which is why they have spent big this summer. The Manchester City manager said:

"So the reality is that each club has its own reality, its own history. And every owner of every club decides how he wants to live. You can win from investment – and investing a lot has helped us because we needed players."

Pep Guardiola has reminded the Liverpool boss and the media that he is capable of winning big titles without spending big on superstars. Pointing back to his time at Barcelona, Guardiola said:

“I know I had the best player I’ve ever seen in my life - Lionel Messi - but we won two Champions League at Barcelona with seven players who came from the academy. Two finals against (Manchester) United, seven players, zero cost, from the academy."

Pep Guardiola hit back at Klopp by saying that even Liverpool spent big on Virgil van Dijk and Alisson Becker and eventually lifted the Champions League and the Premier League. The Manchester City manager added:

“But Liverpool were fighting and fighting and were able to go into the market to spend on two incredible players. And they won. They won the Champions League, won the Premier League and all the time they were there. If they don’t want to spend more now, maybe it's because they believe they don’t need it or because the owners don’t want it.”

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Liverpool and Manchester City have had contrasting transfer windows

Despite being Premier League rivals this season, both Liverpool and Manchester City have had very different transfer windows.

Liverpool have only signed one player so far this summer. The Reds spent £36 million on RB Leipzig defender Ibrahima Konate. Manchester City, on the other hand, have also signed one player so far but spent big money to acquire him.

The Premier League champions broke their club record to sign Jack Grealish from Aston Villa for £100 million. However, Manchester City are not done yet. Pep Guardiola's side are now looking to break their own club record by signing Harry Kane from Tottenham Hotspur for a fee exceeding €150 million.

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