Jurgen Klopp says Nations League is one of the most ‘RIDICULOUS ideas in world of football’

Jurgen Klopp says the Nations League is one of the most ‘RIDICULOUS ideas in world of football’ as he insists he’d rather UEFA took more money from Champions League final and got rid of competition after texts with Aleksander Ceferin

  • Jurgen Klopp was speaking at his FA Cup final pre-match press conference
  • The Liverpool manager revealed he has exchanged tests with the UEFA president
  • Asked about the new Champions League reforms, Klopp said: ‘More games are always a bad idea’
  • The German then gave his damning assessment of the UEFA Nations League 

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has described the UEFA Nations League as one of the most ‘ridiculous ideas in the world of football’ in another damning assessment of player welfare. 

The Reds manager was speaking ahead of the FA Cup final against Chelsea on Saturday and after revealing he had indeed spoken to UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin after a point of indifference regarding Champions League final ticket allocations. 

Yet when asked about the conversation with Ceferin, as well as his thoughts on the Champions League reforms from 2024 onwards, Klopp spoke again about his irritation towards players being made to compete in more matches.        

The Reds manager was speaking ahead of the FA Cup final against Chelsea on Saturday and after revealing he had indeed spoken to UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has described the UEFA Nations League as one of the most ‘ridiculous ideas in the world of football’ (right, UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin)

Klopp spoke about his irritation towards players being made to compete in more matches

Klopp spoke about his irritation towards players being made to compete in more matches

‘More games are always a bad idea. I’ve spoken quite frequently about that…’ he said on Friday.

On the Champions League reforms: ‘I had no time to get into the details, I heard a little bit about that. No time to really get an opinion about that…’

Yet on his conversation with Ceferin, Klopp was more revealing: ‘He text me. I said what I said, there should be more tickets for us. 

‘He then gave the same thought that he gave publicly. I replied when I said we should have more information.

Klopp said some players will have played over 70 games and slammed the Nations League

Klopp said some players will have played over 70 games and slammed the Nations League 

‘But the Nations League is one of the most ridiculous ideas in the world of football. 

‘Players have played over 70 games and we continue with Nations League games (after the season has ended). Four, five, six games with the national teams. 

‘I would prefer UEFA take more money from the Champions League finals and get rid of the Nations League.’ 

As for tomorrow’s final, Klopp admitted his side were ‘desperate’ to win the FA Cup, with the Reds having not won it since 2006.

Klopp said his side are 'desperate' to win the FA Cup, having not won it since 2006

Klopp said his side are ‘desperate’ to win the FA Cup, having not won it since 2006

‘We’re really desperate to win it. We have an opponent who are the same. We last won it in 2006, they’ve won it three or four times since this. They are cup specialists… but we want to give it a try, a proper try.

‘It’d mean the world to us, that’s the truth. This is a special group. We will give it a real go against an opponent who will do the same. 

‘We had only a few weeks ago another final which felt like a World Cup final and now a few weeks later in the season, so I’m pretty sure a lot of people around the world will watch this game – hopefully we can use this power. 

‘Special game. Massive, massive, massive. For some of us the biggest in their career. We want to enjoy it and deliver it for our people.’

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