The pursuit of Neymar by Liverpool could confirm Jürgen Klopp’s earlier assessment of Chelsea.

Todd Boehly and Chelsea are demonstrating with Neymar that they still have a ways to go as Liverpool continues to be the benchmark in terms of transfers for new Premier League owners.

Last season, Liverpool was unable to observe the transfer chaos elsewhere with its customary smugness. The events at Chelsea would have inspired a healthy dose of schadenfreude in any other campaign.

Despite the disastrous nature of Todd Boehly’s first full season as an owner, Liverpool still managed to finish seven places and 23 points ahead of an utterly disastrous Chelsea team that spent unfathomable sums on the transfer market but only managed to finish middle of the table. There was no reason to celebrate, however, as Jürgen Klopp’s team fell short of even the most minimal goal of a Champions League finish.

Now there can be no question that Liverpool blundered in the transfer market. Klopp’s hope that the current crop could continue to be competitive for another season was unfounded, as the midfield was neglected for far too long. He paid dearly for it.

But Liverpool has moved quickly to address the issue this summer. Once again using two release clauses to secure shrewd deals for two of the most promising young midfielders available, FSG has returned to the methods that made them the transfer market’s undisputed kings for a considerable amount of time. Those swoops exhibit all the characteristics of traditional business.

After all, it was this organization that affordably acquired Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mané, Andy Robertson, and a host of other players for the club. Virgil van Dijk, Alisson, and Fabinho transformed rivals into all-around champions when it did make a significant investment. Liverpool may have lost its way, but it still maintains its status as the gold standard for how to compete in a world of state-backed behemoths.

Chelsea has adopted a very different strategy to address its issues, one that appears to be focused on pouring ever more money at the issue. Sales have dominated Boehly’s early summer, with a mad rush to comply with Financial Fair Play regulations before June 30; however, with recruitment now on the agenda, there are no early indications of lessons learned.

Links to Neymar, according to Le Parisien, who claims a transfer is being considered, are the best example of this. Despite Boehly’s apparent good intentions, such as his purchase of a feeder club in Europe and his focus on luring young talent, his continued efforts to court marquee names are proof that his greatest desire is a status symbol.

Simply put, a professional soccer team has no business acquiring Neymar this summer. The 31-year-old has advanced past his prime years, is increasingly plagued by injuries, and will command a staggering salary. Even PSG has come to the conclusion that a squad full of flashy superstars will not win the game’s top awards, but Boehly is determined to push forward and arrange a meeting with Mauricio Pochettino.

Surprisingly, Neymar was one of the better pressers in Pochettino’s PSG front line, with neither Lionel Messi nor Kylian Mbappé contributing anything at all. But it is unquestionably not the former Barcelona player who will best suit the Argentine’s brand of play.

I have some sympathy for Chelsea because things are not going well. Before the Reds’ 4-3 victory over Tottenham in April, Jürgen Klopp told Sky Sports, “I think they’re a top, top team.

“On the other hand, it’s encouraging to see that building a team takes more than simply assembling a group of elite players and expecting things to work out. They clearly underestimated it, which made their coaches’ jobs nearly impossible.

“You cannot train on two pitches or have two changing rooms; you must build relationships and foster a sense of teamwork. I’m only mildly pleased about it because of that. “.

Finding players who work with the system is Liverpool’s top priority. Everything else is secondary to that, even international reputation. Boehly has obviously not yet grasped that lesson and may be about to guide Chelsea into yet another costly error. FSG and its model may have been caught off guard in recent years as competitors grew more sophisticated and wealthy, but there is only one favorite to correct the errors of the previous campaign.