Chris Kamara shares how Jose Mourinho told him he couldn’t afford £75m Virgil van Dijk at Man United

Former Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho wanted to sign Virgil van Dijk before his £75million move to Liverpool in 2017, but the Old Trafford chiefs were not prepared to shell out on the highly-rated Dutchman, according to Chris Kamara.

Speaking on the BBC’s ‘Proper Football Podcast’, Kamara revealed that he once advised the Portuguese coach to sign Van Dijk following his fruitful spells at Southampton and Celtic, but Mourinho simply dismissed the idea, confident his bosses would not grant sufficient funds for the transfer.

‘I can exclusively reveal that I told Jose [Mourinho] to take him to Manchester United and Jose said, “These lot won’t give me the money for him.” Yeah, and he went to Liverpool,’ he said on the podcast.

Following his blockbuster move to Anfield, Van Dijk became an integral part of Jurgen Klopp’s success, chalking up Premier League, FA Cup, League Cup and Champions League honours at Liverpool.

Despite winning the Europa League in 2017 under Mourinho, Manchester United soon found their squad in serious need of an elite centre-half and subsequently signed England international Harry Maguire for £80m in 2019 during the reign of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.  

Chris Kamara (left) has revealed how Jose Mourinho (right) told him he couldn’t afford Virgil van Dijk at Manchester United – before the Dutchman signed for Liverpool for £75m in 2017

Van Dijk became a big part of Liverpool’s success, racking up a portfolio of trophies at Anfield

Maguire, who is now club captain, has since been brushed aside and starved of regular first team football by Erik ten Hag, who could well look to offload the out-of-favour centre-back at the end of the season.

During Mourinho’s two-year stint at Old Trafford, the Red Devils spent £369m on new players in a bid to return to the illustrious heights they enjoyed under Sir Alex Ferguson.

Paul Pogba returned to the club for £89m at the end of the 2016 campaign, Romelu Lukaku joined for £75m the following summer and Fred marked Manchester United’s third-highest purchase during Mourinho’s tenure, arriving for £52m from Shakhtar Donetsk.

Meanwhile, David Moyes was granted £65m in total during his ill-fated spell after Ferguson’s retirement, Louis van Gaal was given £259m during his two-year stint at Old Trafford, and Solskjaer was offered £374m on new players.

The Old Trafford bosses subsequently signed England international Harry Maguire for £80m in 2019 – but the defender has now lost his place under Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag