Jurgen Klopp Rules Out Messi Move
Liverpool
boss Jurgen Klopp has ruled out a move for Barcelona forward Lionel Messi, but
admits the Argentine would be "great" for the Premier League.
Messi's
future has been surrounded by speculation since asking to leave Barca but
Klopp says there is "no chance" he will join the English champions.
Asked if he
was interested in signing the 33-year-old, Klopp said: "Who doesn't want
Messi in their team?
"The
numbers are not for us, but a good player, to be honest."
Messi has
been linked with a reunion with former Barca boss Pep Guardiola at Manchester
City - something Klopp says will "obviously" help his rivals and make
them "harder to beat".
City, who
were Liverpool's closest rivals in the top flight last season and their
predecessors as title holders, have remained tight-lipped on the rumours and
have ruled out letting first-team regulars Bernardo Silva, Riyad Mahrez
and Gabriel Jesus leave in any exchange deal for Argentina international
Messi.
"For
the Premier League, it would be great, but I am not sure the Premier League
needs that boost," added Klopp.
"He's
never played in another league. Football is different here. I'd like to see it
but I'm not sure I will."
Liverpool
continue their pre-season preparations against FA Cup winners Arsenal in the
Community Shield on Saturday (16:30 BST), and Klopp says he is
"happy" with his squad.
However,
while remaining coy on the subject, he did not rule out further transfer
activity before the Premier League window closes on 5 October.
"Numbers
in the squad make sense, we have a big squad at the moment with a lot of young
boys, and the size of the squad is OK," he said.
"I'm
happy with what we have but we look constantly for improvement - internally
too.
"It
will be interesting to see what other teams do but we will deal with our
situation as we always have. The philosophy of this club is clear and we will
see how much we want to spend."
No comments