Latest Liverpool FC News: Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has expressed his concerns about the late closure of the transfer window in the Saudi Arabia league.
He fears that this could negatively impact European clubs.
Klopp shared his worries while in Singapore ahead of Liverpool’s pre-season friendly against Bayern Munich. He specifically mentioned his concern regarding former Liverpool striker Sadio Mane potentially leaving Bayern to join Saudi side Al Nassr.
Throughout the year, clubs in the wealthy Middle Eastern country have been spending lavishly to acquire top players such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, and N’Golo Kante. On Monday, Brazilian midfielder Fabinho became the third Liverpool player to transfer to a Saudi club this season, joining Al-Ittihad in a £40 million deal. This move follows closely after Jordan Henderson and Roberto Firmino also made similar transfers.
Klopp seems worried about the potential consequences of the Saudi transfer window closing on September 20, which is three weeks after it closes in Europe. He is concerned that this could affect clubs that may not have enough time to find suitable replacements for their players.
“The influence of Saudi Arabia? We will see. I don’t know. At the moment it looks like they have quite an influence, it is massive,” said the German.
“I think that pretty much the worst thing is that the transfer window in Saudi Arabia is open for three weeks longer. If I am right, I heard something like that. Then, at least in Europe, that’s not helpful. So UEFA and FIFA must find solutions for that.”
“But in the end, I don’t know at this moment exactly what will happen. It is already influential, for us, for sure. We will have to learn to deal with it, but that’s what we do,” he added.
“That’s pretty much all I can say about it, time will show.”
Thomas Tuchel, the manager of Bayern Munich, was questioned about the increasing impact of Saudi football. He compared it to the Chinese Super League, where clubs also invested heavily in bringing in talented football players during the mid-2000s.
“I’m just observing the situation, which is a very new situation,” said the Bayern boss.
“It’s maybe a bit similar to the situation when China started their league. It’s kind of a similar gold rush there and we’re experiencing the next league which tries to become more popular, more famous and tries to build a brand by signing a lot of quality players and coaches,” he added.
“It’s a completely new situation and a bit too early for me to have a clear opinion. So I’m an observer, a surprised observer.”
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