France World Cup winner says Liverpool are ‘suckers’ for paying £60m for young defender Jacquet
Christophe Dugarry says there is 'no justification' for Liverpool spending that much on an unproven player
Former France forward Christophe Dugarry has described Liverpool as ”suckers” for shelling out £60million to sign Rennes defender Jeremy Jacquet.
The France Under-21 international’s move to Anfield was confirmed last night and he will spend the remainder of the current Ligue 1 season at Rennes before joining Liverpool in the summer.
Jacquet has made just 36 appearances in the French top flight but that did not deter Liverpool, who beat off competition from Chelsea to bring him to the Premier League.
Dugarry is delighted Rennes managed to get such a sizeable fee but questioned Liverpool’s thinking.
He told RMC Sport: “This isn’t meant to offend the player, honestly, he’s not to blame at all, and we wish him all the best because he’s a good player. But when you have suckers like that…well done to Rennes.
“Rennes managed to find a sucker like Liverpool that was [willing to pay] €70 million (£60m).”
Table of Contents
This is a football that has lost its mind – Dugarry
The deal for Jacquet, 20, was one of the biggest in a January window that, while not as frivolous as previous years, again saw the Premier League outspend its European rivals.
And that is not healthy, according to 1998 World Cup winner Dugarry, who added: “Let them continue, all these English clubs, sending tens of millions of euros. This isn’t just a two-tiered football situation anymore, it’s a football that’s lost its mind.
“Let’s stop trying to pretend there’s a justification for it. There’s no justification whatsoever. I don’t know what’s going on. It’s ridiculous! No, it’s not supply and demand. It’s ridiculous! It’s ridiculous!”
‘Pressure will be on Jacquet at Liverpool’
Dugarry fears the size of the fee could present a problem for Jacquet when he does appear for Liverpool in pre-season.
“Poor Jacquet, this transfer is going to put a lot of pressure on him,” added the former Barcelona, AC Milan and Birmingham star.
“The poor kid, who is certainly a very good player, is going to arrive with so much pressure. His performances will be viewed differently, even though he doesn’t deserve it.
“Those of us who know football, let’s not try to justify this amount by saying it’s because Liverpool has money or whatever. It’s meaningless!”