A quote criticizing the creation of the European Super League is falsely attributed to the manager of Liverpool’s football club, Jurgen Klopp. While Klopp has expressed his opposition to the new league, these are not the words he used.
The fake quote has been shared thousands of times on Facebook and Twitter (here, here, here), also on high profile accounts (here). It claims that this is Klopp’s official response to the controversial announcement on April 19 that a dozen top European football teams, including Liverpool, are planning to break away and create their own league.
‘Was I told about this announcement? No, ”reads the quote. “It’s about one thing. Greed. I do not care. As far as I am concerned, the fans are my employer. I work for them every day.
‘Let me repeat that I am against this Super League. I demanded a meeting with John [John Henry, Liverpool owner]. From face to face. That’s all I can say at the moment about my future. ”
However, this is not an authentic quote from Klopp. Reuters took back the earliest version of the report to a Twitter account here which has posted numerous false quotes in the past. Some more examples can be seen here , here and here).
In 2019, Klopp spoke out against the creation of a Super League and reiterated on April 19 that his view had not changed here. He also stressed that he and Liverpool’s players were not involved in the decision – and suggested that anger from fans was misled.
“It’s hard,” he said. “People are not happy with it, I can understand that. But I can not say much more about it, because we were not involved in any processes, not the players, not me. We did not know about it … The boys did nothing wrong except that they did not win all the football matches. I really want to make sure everyone knows this. ”
Klopp later added that he acknowledges that some things will have to change in football, as governing bodies such as UEFA and FIFA should not just be the ones to make decisions.
He said: ‘FIFA wants a Club World Cup, whenever it has to be. It is about money, nothing else, ”he said. ‘It’s happening, it’s not just this [breakaway] clubs. ”
VERDICT
Untrue. Jurgen Klopp has reiterated his criticism of the creation of a European Super League, but the viral quote widely attributed to him is not real.
This article was produced by the Reuters Fact Check team. Read more about our fact-checking work here.