Jurgen Klopp has played down the prospect of Liverpool being handed Premier League titles retrospectively following the verdict against Manchester City, admitting his feelings have changed since joking about holding another victory parade.
The former Liverpool manager, now in charge of Germany, was asked about Man City before his side’s Nations League meeting with Serbia.
Klopp had joked before leaving Anfield in 2024 that he would return for a parade if Liverpool were subsequently awarded titles. Following the independent commission’s findings against City, however, he struck a very different tone.
“I know I once said something that I’d come if there was ever a parade, but it doesn’t feel like that now,” Klopp said.
Klopp reflects on battles with Guardiola’s City
Klopp made clear he doesn’t feel Liverpool’s achievements during his nine years at Anfield require anything to be added retrospectively.
“I’m far from preparing for a title or anything like that,” he said. “I’m absolutely fine with what we’ve achieved in Liverpool.”
Liverpool finished one point behind Pep Guardiola’s City in both the 2018-19 and 2021-22 Premier League seasons, making Klopp one of the most prominent figures from the period now under renewed scrutiny.
His respect for Guardiola and the football produced by City during their rivalry remains unchanged.
“My respect for Pep Guardiola and City’s style of football, they played fantastic football and were a top-class opponent for us,” Klopp said.
Klopp also declined to pass judgement on the financial case itself, saying he did not know enough about the details.
“We fought hard on the pitch. I can’t say more about that because I don’t know the details and I’m not interested in them.”
The comments, reported by the Manchester Evening News, come after an independent commission found City guilty of all charges relating to serious breaches of Premier League financial rules over a nine-season period.
The Premier League also confirmed that three of four alleged breaches relating to City’s duties of co-operation and utmost good faith were upheld.
Pep backs the club
City deny wrongdoing and have until Friday 2 October to exercise their right to appeal the commission’s findings. The issue of sanction will be considered separately.
Former City manager Guardiola has already publicly backed the club following the verdict. His departure after a decade at the Etihad was confirmed earlier this year, with Enzo Maresca subsequently taking charge.
For Klopp, though, there is no appetite to revisit the trophies won and lost during one of the Premier League’s defining managerial rivalries. Whatever happens next in City’s case, he remains satisfied with what Liverpool achieved on the pitch.
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