Liverpool Boss Opens Up On European Super League
The Reds are one of 12 clubs to agree to join the breakaway competition.
In 2019 Klopp said he hoped there would never be a Super League and before the 1-1 Premier League draw with Leeds he confirmed his opinion had not changed.
“I heard I will resign. If times get tough it makes me even more sticky that I will stay,” he said after the game.
Reds vice-captain James Milner was even more critical of the new tournament – which has threatened to cause a schism in football.
“I don’t like it one bit and hopefully it doesn’t happen,” he said.
“It [the current system] has worked well for a long time. What has made it special, what we have done over the last few years, is we have earned the right to win the Champions League and the Premier League. The product we have currently is very good.
“It is difficult. Coming into the game today Leeds fans were making their feelings shown. As players we don’t really have a say so it feels a bit unjust.”
Leeds players wore T-shirts saying ‘Earn it’ next to the Champions League logo and ‘Football is for the fans’ and left the shirts in Liverpool’s dressing room in case they wanted to join the protest. That angered Klopp.
“We were not involved in the process,” he said after the game. “We are the team, we wear the shirts with pride. Somebody has made a decision with the owners in world football that we don’t know exactly why.
“We are here, we are the face of the club and arrived here and Leeds fans shouted at us as though we made the decision but we didn’t.
“Gary Neville was talking about ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’. This already should be forbidden. It’s our anthem. We have the right to sing our anthem. He doesn’t understand it anyway so I don’t want this because it’s not fair.
“I don’t like this [Super League] either, but I don’t talk about the other clubs…
“I wish Gary Neville would be in a hot seat somewhere and not where the most money is.
“He was at Manchester United where the most money was and now he’s at Sky where the most money is. Don’t forget that we have nothing to do with this. We are in the same situation like you all. We got the information yesterday and we still have to play football.
“‘Damn them to hell?’ Did he write that today? These things are really not OK.”
Neville responded by arguing that he and Klopp were actually in agreement, but defended his own comments.
“I’ve handed out enough insults over the years to Liverpool, but yesterday was nothing to do with insulting Liverpool,” he said. “I don’t know why I’m living in his head. I don’t know what’s spiked him.
“Yesterday was an impassioned plea from me about protecting football in this country.
“My biggest disappointment was with Manchester United and Liverpool. I think I’ve equally distributed enough criticism to both clubs in the last 24 hours so I don’t know what the problem is.”
Fans of several clubs protested outside Elland Road – including burning a Liverpool shirt – while Reds fans displayed banners opposing the move at Anfield.
A plane flew over Leeds’ ground saying ‘No to Super League’.
UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin has said clubs and players involved with the ESL could be banned “as soon as possible” from all UEFA competitions – and the World Cup.
Klopp said: “If you thought, what could make the year worse? All that happened, the pandemic, all the injuries, other stuff and then that came up. Another challenge… but we’ll get through somehow.”
