JAMIE CARRAGHER has slammed Liverpool for their prominent role in the European Super League with the pundit ‘sickened’ by his old team.
And past quotes from Jurgen Klopp have emerged showing the German in clear opposition to such a league which could put club and manager on a collision course.
Liverpool are one of 12 renegade clubs who confirmed they are behind the plans that have triggered almost unanimous outrage across the football world.
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Last night, the Prem’s so-called ‘Big Six’ – including Liverpool – alongside Spanish trio Real and Atletico Madrid and Barcelona, as well as AC Milan, Inter and Juventus, officially broke cover to confirm their membership.
In a statement outlining the breakaway scheme, the 12 rebels said they ‘anticipated a further three clubs will join ahead of the inaugural season, which is intended to commence as soon as practicable’.
But Reds icon Carragher pulled no punches when describing the move by Liverpool’s American owners as a ‘betrayal of the heritage they are seeking to cash in on’.
He wrote in his Telegraph column: “The more I read about the European Super League proposals, the more it seems Liverpool’s owners must like empty stadiums because all they have done is raise the likelihood of another mass walkout.
“As a former Liverpool player, it sickens me that my club’s reputation is being damaged by the arrogance of an ownership group that wants to remove such peril, creating a culture where we no longer need to fight to earn our success.
“That is the antithesis of everything I understand football – especially in my city – to stand for. To be tainted by association with the European Super League is bad enough.
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“But Liverpool’s apparent leading role in threatening football’s competitive ideals – the very ideals which allowed the club to emerge from England’s second division to become six-time European champions – is a betrayal of a heritage they are seeking to cash in on.”
Liverpool’s hierarchy also face a tricky situation with much-loved manager Klopp who opposed such plans in 2019.
He said at the time: “I hope this Super League will never happen.
“With the way the Champions League is now running, football has a great product, even with the Europa League.
“For me, the Champions League is the Super League, in which you do not always end up playing against the same teams.”
Former Liverpool defender Dejan Lovren also added his voice to the many dissenters.
He tweeted: “‘Football will be in the near future on the brink of complete collapse.
“Nobody is thinking about the bigger picture, only the financial side. I still believe we can solve this unpleasant situation.”
Borussia Dortmund, RB Leipzig and FC Porto have all come out against the league with two French clubs reportedly set to join.
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
