Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp believes it will not be considered a “good day for football” if the overturned ban on the Manchester City Champions League causes erosion of UEFA’s Financial Fair Play initiative.
Questions are being asked about the FFP imposition after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) annulled on Monday the city’s two-year suspension of European competition that UEFA imposed on them for “serious breaches” of financial regulations.
The implementation of FFP was one of the reasons Fenway Sports Group bought Liverpool in October 2010, with rules designed to prevent clubs owned by very wealthy benefactors or entire states from overspending relative to revenue.
Under Klopp and backed by FSG, Liverpool have won the European Cup, the Premier League, the FIFA Club World Cup and the UEFA Super Cup in the past 14 months.
And while Happy City will be in the Champions League next season, not only because it will bolster its team’s title defense, the Reds boss is concerned about the possible ramifications of the CAS decision.
“From a personal point of view, I am happy that City can play in the Champions League next year, because if I think about the league and City has 10-12 games less and can rest the players, then I don’t see any opportunity for any other team in the league, “said Klopp.
“I don’t wish anyone bad, as I said, I’m happy that City can play in the Champions League, but I don’t think it was a good day for yesterday’s football to be honest.”
“I think FFP is a good idea. It is there to protect the teams and protect the competition, that was the idea from the beginning, so that nobody spends too much and the clubs before the season have to make sure that the money they want Spending is based on the correct sources, let me put it this way.
“On top of that, I’m from Germany and educated myself in a completely different system for most of my life. We have different club structures, it’s really a club structure and not an owner-based system. In Germany as long as are maintained for this system, they will not have this type of problem.
“It was clear where you got your money from before the season. You got your license, and if you didn’t, then you can’t be part of the competition. It makes it a little difficult.”
Speaking ahead of Wednesday’s Premier League visit to Arsenal, Klopp believes there should be a series of checks and balances to prevent certain clubs from dominating the financial landscape.
And the Liverpool boss warned that without the FFP, the prospect of a world super league limited to only the wealthiest clubs would come one step closer to reality.
“I think FFP is a good idea,” he said. “I just read a little bit about the wording (of the City case) and why it was so, and it’s not up to me to judge these things and I don’t.”
“I just think this FFP framework, which is for all of us, should all be followed. That is all I can say.
“I really hope that the FFP stays because it gives at least one type of borders that you can go to but not more. That is good for football. If you start doing that, nobody has to care more, then people or Wealthier countries can do whatever they want in football, that would make competition very difficult.
“I think that would automatically lead to a kind of world super league with 10 clubs. I don’t know the clubs, but it would not depend on the names of the club but on the people who own the clubs.”
“It makes sense that we have these kinds of rules. But about yesterday’s trial, I don’t know enough and I didn’t fully understand why the trial was.”
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