Liverpool’s Jurgen Klopp would take ‘less money for less games’ to put player welfare first
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp claimed he would seize an opportunity to lessen the fixture load in return for reduced earnings as he once again rallied against the congestion of the schedule.
The 52-year-old, who has continuously circled his concerns over adding to the workload of players without thinking about the consequences, took aim at the introduction of an expanded Club World Cup.
China will host the 24-team tournament in 2021, which has been rolled out by Fifa despite top clubs indicating they would boycott it. However, with a reported £50 million fee just for participating, the governing body are confident there will no such shunning of their showpiece.
La Liga president Javier Tebas has already hit out at Fifa, who he believes will ‘disrupt the eco-system’ by ignoring the “consequences of these tournaments.”
Klopp has repeatedly bemoaned that “no-one thinks of the welfare of players” when pushing through more football. He has called on “Fifa, Uefa and the FAs of all countries to come together and finally sort that.”
When asked if he accepts that Liverpool have to participate in the Club World Cup, the German responded: “I am not sure we have to, but we are all well paid and that’s how it is. We know that this money, someone has to earn it somewhere.
“If it’s that competition and we have to go because they offer that kind of money and it’s the first time… I don’t know exactly. I like the idea in general [of so many clubs from around the world competing], but then you have to cancel another tournament. You just cannot add on another tournament and another and another. That cannot work. That’s the only thing I say. Just make decisions.
“Where is the year where there is no tournament? It’s just not there anymore for some players. You have the World Cup, the European Championships, the Club World Cup, the Copa America… There is no year without a tournament anymore and that makes no sense. I don’t know why nobody sees it like this. And then you come up with the money. So I say: ‘Less money for less games’ and I say ‘okay get it’.”
Klopp then turned his attention to the problems domestically. He suggested that replays in the FA Cup should be scrapped, with smaller teams awarded home games. He also questioned the wisdom of having two-legged ties in the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup - a competition Manchester City’s Pep Guardiola said should be removed from the calendar altogether.
“Carabao Cup second semi-final is nothing to do with money. Nothing,” Klopp said. “It’s not okay, These games are not okay. Replays in the FA Cup? Have a penalty shoot out.
“The explanation against that is that the smaller teams have a chance to win the game. Then give them the home game in the first place. Go there, play there. If they beat us: ‘Congratulations. Go for it’.
“But these kinds of things… it’s just another game on television. But who watches these games? So that’s the thing where we have to start and that’s not about money.
“The Football League and the FA have to talk and find a solution, just internally. That would already decrease the situation because every year we do the same. We talk about it at this stage of the year and then the rest of the year we don’t talk about it. We have seven games in a week and then we start talking about it.”
Guardiola has echoed Klopp’s criticisms, pleading for “less games, less competitions, less teams, more quality, less quantity.”
Like his Liverpool counterpart, he wants the authorities to “reflect on it” but flagged that “all the managers complain about it and they don’t care. The players suffer.
“They want to do well. Clubs have a lot of pressure to win or qualify for the Champions League and we push and push. The body says stop, it’s enough.”
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