The German has no hard feelings over the 26-year-old's decision to move to the Far East and insists the financial incentives on offer would have been a temptation for any player
Jurgen Klopp has weighed in on Alex Teixeira's £38.4 million move to Jiangsu Suning, saying it was a difficult offer for the midfielder to refuse with the Chinese Super League emerging as a competitor to European football.
The Brazilian was Liverpool's priority target in the January window and with Shakhtar Donetsk having rejected the Reds' offer of £24m with £3m in add ons, ongoing talks over a deal ended when the Ukrainian club insisted he was not for sale until the summer unless a £53m fee was paid.
However, Teixeira's switch to the Far East was confirmed on Friday as he became Chinese football's record transfer.
The 26-year-old, who had previously stated "it would be an honour to pull on the Liverpool shirt" while highlighting his desire to play in the Premier League and push for a Brazil place, is reportedly now the 10th highest-paid footballer in the world.
When asked about Teixeira's decision, Klopp said: "First of all I think we should respect we can all make our own decisions, and not all our decisions are a sign for a new development in the world.
"In a lot of parts of Europe, people in football talk about the financial power of England because of the TV contract and things. Now maybe it's another competitor, maybe there's China.
"For a few years I've known about the financial situation in China. If you want to go there, if you are 26 and you get an offer like he got - everybody would think about it!
"There are a few problems less for the next generation of Teixeiras. That's good news for the whole family. I have no problem with this. It's absolutely normal.
"I don't think it's a sign in general, if you want to change your situation and there's an offer from a club from China, everybody would think about it."
- Goal