Jurgen Klopp consulted Georginio Wijnaldum before sanctioning Liverpools record-breaking transfer move for Virgil van Dijk.
Van Dijk became the most expensive defender in history when he completed a £75million move to Liverpool from Southampton in 2018.
The 28-year-old justified his price-tag by helping Liverpool win the Champions League and finish second in the Premier League last season.
Wijnaldum arrived at Anfield back in 2016 but was consulted about his Netherlands team-mate Van Dijk before he even joined the Premier League giants.
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Before I even joined Liverpool I had a meeting with Jurgen and during our talks he asked me about Virgil van Dijk, Wijnaldum said.
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I had always rated Virgil very highly and my exact words to Jurgen were, He is going to make the defence a lot better.
So I was not surprised when Virgil won the UEFA Best Player award ahead of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. I actually expected him to win it.
Virgil has had a blinder of a season and has been so successful. Nothing about him surprises me any more.
Wijnaldum, 28, did not start Liverpools Champions League semi-final second leg against Barcelona last season and admits he has a love-hate relationship with Klopp.
With the manager, it is more or less hate and love, Wijnaldum added. I am sure he has the best interests at heart with every player in the squad.
But sometimes you are so involved in a match and the manager is still chasing you. Then you just boil over sometimes – and, in my case, I do get angry with him.
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I still dont know if what happened against Barcelona was his real plan. But that night I was so angry and so disappointed that he did notRead More – Source