Outgoing Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp makes spending claim & discusses Man City’s 115 charges
The 56-year-old was speaking at a charity event in Liverpool when he was asked about the Premier League’s allegations against Manchester City.
Jurgen Klopp jokingly claimed on Tuesday night that he would be ready to attend a bus parade if Liverpool were awarded two of Manchester City’s titles, when the 115 charges are finally addressed.
The outgoing German boss was speaking at Danke Jurgen, a tribute night organised at Liverpool’s M&S Bank Arena, which 11,000 fans attended. During the lengthy Q&A, the 115 charges came up, allegations which City strenuously deny.
Liverpool finished second to City on two separate occasions under Klopp - in 2018 and 2022 - and the question was put to the departing manager that if City are found guilty it would essentially mean he has won three titles. “If you organise a bus parade, I’m in. How long it takes I don’t care,” the 56-year-old replied, as per the Guardian.
City were charged by the Premier League in February 2023 and nearly 16 months on there has been little movement, despite the league’s CEO Richard Masters claiming that a date for the hearing has been set.
Another of Liverpool’s grievances is that their net spend in the Klopp era is significantly lower than their Premier League rivals’, an issue the German has himself referenced on several occasions. “When you win one time with Liverpool, it is worth as much as five with another club,” Klopp claimed earlier this year.
The former Borussia Dortmund coach referenced the topic again during his farewell event, which raised funds for the Liverpool Foundation. “Can you imagine LFC as the club with unlimited money?” said Klopp.
“Imagine Kylian Mbappe came here. Imagine Bellingham came here, [Erling] Haaland. It is not us, it just does not fit. We won what we won and we did it the Liverpool way. We had hard conversations and other clubs didn’t do that in the same time. We built two new stands, a new training ground, we bought Melwood back.”
However, City and Pep Guardiola would of course reference that the reigning champions’ spending is significantly less than that of Manchester United and Chelsea in that period, two clubs who have won comparatively little in the Klopp-Guardiola era.