Liverpool have made a legal complaint against a publication that reported claims from Manchester City that Jurgen Klopp’s comments about their spending were “borderline xenophobic”.
Klopp has strongly refuted the suggestions, which came after he said no other clubs could compete with the financial might of City, Newcastle and Paris Saint-Germain, who are all owned by Gulf states.
In his press conference prior to Liverpool’s 1-0 victory over City on Sunday, Klopp said: “There are three clubs [the Gulf state-owned City, Newcastle and PSG] in world football who can do what they want financially. It’s legal and everything, fine, but they can do what they want.”
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City were reportedly understood to have felt those comments inflamed tensions leading into a fixture which has become increasingly acrimonious.
Pep Guardiola said coins were thrown at him during Sunday’s fixture at Anfield, while visiting fans sang offensive songs about the Hillsborough and Heysel disasters.
It is understood Merseyside Police have also received a complaint of alleged criminal damage to City’s team coach on Sunday night.
City have reportedly suggested privately that Klopp’s viewpoint was “borderline xenophobic” but the Liverpool manager took exception to that insinuation, saying: “In this specific case, I don’t feel it at all.
“I know myself and you cannot hit with something which is miles away from my personality. If I was like this, I would hate it. I would hate myself for being like this.
“I have said a lot of times things that were a little bit open for misunderstanding. I know that. It was not intentional, just sometimes you say things and you think ‘Oh my God! It can be interpreted like this!’ But this is not one of these moments.”
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