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Football, as we all know and love, is a game of opinions.

But woe betide somebody if they have the temerity to in any way, and for any reason, deviate from a previously declared viewpoint.

Depending, of course, if the current perception is one that fits within a preferred narrative.

Take Jurgen Klopp and transfers.

Here he is talking in the summer of 2016 shortly after Paul Pogba's eye-wateringly expensive move from Juventus to Manchester United.

“If you bring one player in for £100million and he gets injured, then it all goes through the chimney,” he said.

“The day that this is football, I'm not in a job anymore. You always want to have the best, but building the group is necessary to be successful.

“Other clubs can go out and spend more money and collect top players. I want to do it differently. I would even do it differently if I could spend that money.”

And here's what Klopp is being called after he followed making Virgil van Dijk the most expensive defender in history in January by this week making Alisson Becker the most expensive goalkeeper in history.

A hypocrite.

(Image: Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)

The base claim from the Liverpool boss cannot be disputed. He still hasn't paid £100m for one player.

But the manner in which the Reds splashed out £75m on Van Dijk and then £65m on Alisson has upset those mindful of his dismissal of United spending so massively on Pogba.

Except Liverpool fans, who are understandably delighted at Klopp biting the bullet and sanctioning a major move to hopefully address a consistently problematic position.

They aren't bothered that Klopp has changed his tune to some degree.

Adapt or die. The underlying rule of evolution applies even to football managers, no matter how stubborn they may be on occasion.

And with Liverpool flush with cash from the Premier League television deal, their run to the Champions League final and the sale of Philippe Coutinho for £142m, Klopp has been able to flex his transfer muscles. That's no bad thing, a dereliction of duty to do otherwise.

There are, however, limits. Liverpool weren't interested at Alisson with a £90m price tag. Nor were they willing to do business at £75m. The Reds, Roma were told, weren't interested at that mark.

Once it came down to £65m, a deal could be struck. Klopp, alerted by the travails of Loris Karius during pre-season, had changed his mind. Get it done. And it was.

What's more, Liverpool's record at recruiting big-money players under Klopp and his recruitment team – think Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain – has given them the confidence they can spend large amounts without fear of it being poured instantly down the drain.

But consider this.

Van Dijk, despite that huge fee, is not even in the top 10 most expensive players in the world.

Alisson, meanwhile, is 26 – Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to Arsenal, Angel Di Maria to Manchester United, Aymeric Laporte to Manchester City and Alvaro Morata to Chelsea all cost more.

Klopp's contention that he wouldn't spend a mammoth amount on one player remains true.

The only thing that has changed from his quote of two years ago are the numbers involved. £100m back then is more than £200m now, Neymar the current benchmark.

And the Liverpool boss, nor indeed any manager, can be blamed for that. Just like Klopp can't be blamed for spending money he has on players he wants.

That's football fact, not opinion.