Andoni Iraola’s Personal Pitch Helps Liverpool Sign Victor Munoz

A personal pitch helped Liverpool win the race

The telling detail in Victor Munoz’s move to Liverpool is how Andoni Iraola helped sell it. The new Liverpool boss made clear to the club’s hierarchy that he rated the winger, then spoke to the player himself about how he’d fit into his plans. It echoes the approach Jurgen Klopp used to help secure his first Anfield signing.

Andoni Iraola has used the same transfer trick deployed by Jurgen Klopp (Image: Robin Jones - AFC Bournemouth via Getty Images)

Munoz, a 22-year-old Spain international, became the first signing of the Iraola era last week, agreeing a six-year contract with Liverpool. He is due to join his new teammates on Merseyside in July, subject to a work permit. Liverpool triggered the £34.5 million release clause in his Osasuna deal. For a time, Newcastle looked well placed to sign him. The club saw the quick, tricky forward as a possible replacement for Anthony Gordon, who is bound for Barcelona, and was reportedly encouraged by talks with Munoz’s representatives. He scored seven goals and supplied five assists in 36 appearances last season. Liverpool’s willingness to pay the clause in full appears to have mattered: Newcastle had hoped to negotiate a lower fee. Sporting director Richard Hughes completed the deal, but Iraola’s involvement may have helped tip the balance. The data doesn’t tell us how much weight Munoz gave the manager’s pitch. Still, a detailed phone call about his prospective role gave the player a direct account of the football Liverpool wanted him to play. Iraola had told Liverpool’s decision-makers soon after replacing Arne Slot that he admired Munoz and saw him fitting the team’s intense, aggressive style. That’s a familiar kind of personal recruitment pitch at Anfield. Klopp used a similar tactic more than a decade ago to land his first Liverpool signing; the parallel is clear, though the fragment doesn’t say what the earlier signing was.

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Klopp’s personal touch had worked before

A direct call from Andoni Iraola appears to have settled Victor Munoz’s choice of Liverpool, even as Bayer Leverkusen and Manchester United showed interest. Liverpool are using a familiar pitch: Jürgen Klopp persuaded Marko Grujic to join in much the same way when Klopp arrived in October 2015. [Image: Victor Munoz opted to join the Reds after a personal call with new boss Andoni Iraola. Photo: Europa Press via Getty Images.] Grujic, Liverpool’s first signing under Klopp, arrived from boyhood club Red Star Belgrade in January 2016 for £5.1 million. Chelsea, Inter, AC Milan and Juventus were among the clubs interested. Klopp’s unexpected phone call helped convince him to choose Anfield. Grujic said Klopp saw him as a midfielder between a No. 6 and a No. 10. He recalled asking not to be loaned out because he wanted to play for Liverpool, and said the manager was open about how he pictured Grujic’s development. “When a coach like that calls you on the phone personally, that’s the greatest privilege,” he said. “That call really cemented my desire to join Liverpool.” [Image: Klopp and Grujic. Photo: John Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images.] Here’s the catch: winning a player’s commitment is only the start. Grujic made eight Premier League appearances across four years at Liverpool, spending three seasons on loan at Cardiff City and Hertha Berlin before joining Porto permanently in 2020. The parallel offers a useful reminder for Munoz’s story: a persuasive call can open the door, but it can’t guarantee what happens after the move. Follow the Liverpool Echo’s dedicated LFC Facebook page for news and analysis from Anfield.Buy Blood Red, the monthly Liverpool FC print publication, for £3.50: click here. Thousands of Liverpool fans upgraded their matchday last season. This is how they did it. This article contains affiliate links. A commission may be earned on sales. Learn more. Seat Unique — various prices. Buy official packages at Seat Unique. Official premium experiences at Anfield are available for the 2026/27 Premier League season.