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

Former Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho was keen to sign Virgil van Dijk before joining Liverpool for £75million in 2017 but Old Trafford bosses were unwilling to shell out the highly-rated Dutchman, according to Chris Kamara.

Speaking on the BBC’s Proper Football Podcast, Kamara revealed he once advised the Portugal manager to sign Van Dijk following his fruitful stints at Southampton and Celtic, but Mourinho simply scrapped the idea, confident his bosses wouldn’t would provide sufficient funds for the transfer.

“I can exclusively reveal that I told Jose [Mourinho] bringing him to Manchester United and Jose said: “These people don’t give me the money for him.” Yes, 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, claiming Premier League, FA Cup, League Cup and Champions League honors at Liverpool.

Despite winning the Europa League in 2017 under Mourinho, Manchester United soon found their squad desperately needed an elite centre-back 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 £75million in 2017

Van Dijk became a huge part of Liverpool’s success and racked up a portfolio of trophies at Anfield

Maguire, who is now the club’s captain, has since been sidelined and starved of regular first-team football by Erik ten Hag, who could relieve the disgraced centre-back at the end of the season.

During Mourinho’s two years 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 season, Romelu Lukaku joined for £75m the following summer and Fred marked Manchester United’s third-biggest purchase during Mourinho’s tenure when he joined from Shakhtar Donetsk for £52m.

Meanwhile, David Moyes received a total of £65m during his unlucky spell after Ferguson’s retirement, Louis van Gaal £259m during his two-year stay at Old Trafford and Solskjaer £374m for new players.

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