Jürgen Klopp sees himself exposed to severe allegations in England and defends himself against it. The background is the Liverpool coach’s criticism of sheik clubs such as Manchester City, Newcastle United and Paris Saint-Germain.
Various English media reports that Manchester City would accuse the German coach of “borderline xenophobic” comments. Some newspapers jumped on the bandwagon. Again telegraph reports, Klopp even takes legal action.
“I know myself. And you can’t hit me with things that are miles away from my personality. If I were like that, I would hate it. I would hate myself for being like that,” said the 55- Year-olds on the allegations at the press conference before the game against West Ham United (8.30 p.m. in LIVETICKER).
And Klopp continues: “I’ve often said things that were a bit misleading, I know that. It wasn’t intentional, but sometimes you say things and think: ‘Oh my God, that can be interpreted like that!’ But this is not one of those moments.”
Before the 1-0 win against Manchester City, the native of Stuttgart had commented on City, Newcastle and PSG, which are controlled by Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
Klopp: “There are no limits for Newcastle”
Financially, these clubs could “do whatever they want,” said Klopp. “You have the best team in the world and the best striker comes onto the market. No matter what it costs, you just do it,” he said, referring to the transfer of Erling Haaland from BVB to Manchester.
Referring to Newcastle, the former Dortmund coach said: “I heard Newcastle’s sporting director say: ‘There are no borders for this club.’ He’s right! He’s absolutely right. For Newcastle there are no limits. Congratulations! But other clubs have limits.”
Irrespective of the allegation of subliminal xenophobia, Klopp received opposition from some quarters for these statements. After all, the Reds have also made numerous extremely expensive transfers.
Was Klopp intentionally misunderstood?
Klopp now hinted that he might even have been intentionally misunderstood.
“This is the life of people who are in the public eye,” said Klopp: “I know what I was thinking when I said it. If someone misunderstands or wants to misunderstand, I can’t change that. Do I have to be careful? “I’ve known for years that I’m not always cautious. I also find that sometimes I just answer and say what’s on my mind.”
He intends to continue doing so in the future. Normally he is far from blaming anyone. He just talks about things that he doesn’t think are that important in life.
Eddie Howe had previously responded to Klopp’s statements. “We don’t live the life that’s being discussed. Our payroll costs are very controlled,” Newcastle manager said. “Even though we’ve spent money on players, it hasn’t been rampant or out of step with the rest of the Premier League. Everyone should be careful with their comments.”
