Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp says it is impossible for them to compete with Manchester City because the Merseyside club is unable to “act like them” in the transfer market.
Klopp went on to claim football is unwilling to confront the stark reality that it is well nigh impossible for competitors to keep pace with City’s financial power year after year, saying that most clubs “have a ceiling” when building a team in his pointed remark addressing the recent comments of Dan Ashworth, Newcastle United’s sporting director.
Having been at it neck-to-neck with City for three of the past four seasons, Liverpool are currently lagging 13 points behind in this campaign. Clearly the league champions’ signing of former Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Haaland has further consolidated their dominance.
When the question was put to him on how Liverpool could respond ahead of the clubs’ meeting tomorrow at Anfield, Klopp said pointedly: “Oh, you won’t like the answer, and you all have the answer already. Nobody can compete with City in that.
“You have the best team in the world and you put in the best striker on the market. No matter what it costs, you just do it. I know City will not like it. Nobody will like it. You’ve asked the question, but you know the answer.
“What does Liverpool do? We cannot act like them. It is not possible. It is just clear, and again you know the answer.
“There are three clubs in world football who can do what they want financially. It’s legal and everything. Fine. But they can do what they want.
“You have to compete with them. It is not a problem at all for me, it’s like it is. Don’t ask me that question because you always open this discussion and it’s me telling you. But you all know it.”
It is already open knowledge Liverpool’s owners have long been lobbying for a more extensive, thorough investigation into the commercial activities of the biggest-spending clubs whose transfer activities are subsidised by huge sponsorship deals. This is now also happening with Newcastle as they anticipate a similar power shift at the top of English football under Saudi PIF ownership and Klopp doesn’t believe it is a level playing field.
“I heard now that at Newcastle somebody said, ‘There is no ceiling for this club’. Yes! He is absolutely right. There is no ceiling for Newcastle. Congratulations, but some other clubs have ceilings,” he said.