During a Q&A session with Liverpool supporters, Jürgen Klopp took a parting shot at Chelsea and Manchester United.
The 56-year-old manager, who is ending his nine-year tenure at Anfield, was moved to tears as about 10,000 fans chanted his name during ‘An Evening With Jürgen Klopp’ at Liverpool’s M&S Bank Arena on Tuesday evening.
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Hosted by comedian John Bishop, the event saw Klopp humorously navigate topics he preferred to avoid while engaging with the Liverpool faithful.
‘TNT… no 12:30 discussion, referees, we don’t talk about Man City, don’t know why, we don’t talk about financial things, don’t know why, VAR,’ he said.
But, Klopp appeared to take aim at Chelsea’s owners over the decision to part ways with Mauricio Pochettino.
‘We should be really happy we have them [Liverpool’s owners Fenway Sports Group] and not guys who bought London clubs,’ Klopp said.
‘I wouldn’t have survived a year at Liverpool [with them]. ‘Finally they [Chelsea] play football which everyone thinks, ‘oh, they might be back’, and then they sack the manager anyway.
‘The owners feel responsible for the club. Are they the best in the world? I don’t know, I can’t say. But they worked really hard. I felt supported.’
Klopp also appeared to criticise the way Manchester United handled Jadon Sancho’s situation under Erik ten Hag.
‘If the whole world loses trust and faith in the player, the manager has to be the one behind the player,’ he added.
‘I cannot just buy into that, ‘he’s useless’, like other clubs did by the way, buying a player for £80 million and then sending him out on loan.’
Bishop also said to Klopp: ‘You leave this club having won the Premier League once. There could be a court decision that means you’ve won the Premier League three times.’
Klopp then joked: ‘If you organise a bus parade, I’m in! How long it takes I don’t care.’
