Jurgen Klopp has told kicker there would be “no chance” that Liverpool would spend an amount similar to the world-record €222 million (£198.5m) Paris Saint-Germain paid for Neymar last year.
Klopp spoke out against high transfer fees after Manchester United paid £89.3m for Paul Pogba in 2016, but said this summer that he had changed his mind.
Following Philippe Coutinho’s £142m departure to Barcelona in January, Liverpool have invested heavily this summer, signing Naby Keita, Fabinho, Xherdan Shaqiri and goalkeeper Alisson for a combined total of around £170m.
But asked about the possibility of Liverpool’s owners, Fenway Sports Group, sanctioning a fee similar to that spent by PSG on Neymar, Klopp said: “No chance, no chance, no chance.
“We are not owned by a state like it’s the case at two big clubs. We have our limits.”
And questioned about whether Fenway could fulfill every transfer wish, Klopp said: “No. We have a conservative leadership.”
He added: “It feels like €100m back then is €500m today. When Neymar joined PSG for €222m, I shook myself.
“Back then I had an opinion, but an incredible lot has happened since. In 2017, Neymar joined Paris, Philippe Coutinho and Ousmane Dembele joined Barcelona for a lot of money, and Kylian Mbappe [joined] Paris.
“This opened the whole thing, the money’s on the market. Now, if Liverpool wants a player, the other clubs want a bit of the cake too. That’s the story.
“And you must also keep in mind that players like Mo Salah, Sadio Mane or Robert Firmino, players we bought for €30m to €40m, have a different value on the transfer market these days. That’s part of the business.”
Liverpool, who boast the world’s most expensive defender in Virgil van Dijk, paid a then world-record fee for Roma’s Alisson in July.