Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has taken aim at Newcastle United after their Saudi-led takeover made them the richest team on the planet – claiming that the Magpies could soon ‘buy the league’ and ‘guarantee spot in the Champions League’.
Newcastle ended a miserable 12-year reign under Mike Ashley last week as their £300m acquisition from the Public Investment Fund was finally pushed through, leading to wild celebrations from supporters outside St James’ Park.
The club have now been tipped to sign a host of top players and eventually challenge for honours under their new owners, leading to fears from a number of elite Premier League clubs, including Tottenham, Manchester United and Everton. Newcastle were left out of a call with the Premier League and 19 other clubs voicing their opposition to the controversial takeover.
Klopp, who has been a vocal opponent of the European Super League plot that was quashed earlier this year, admitted his fears over Newcastle becoming a ‘superpower’ in English football and believes they could soon conquer all before them in the Premier League.
‘There are obviously concerns about human rights issues we all know that. What will it mean for football? A few months ago we had a massive issue with 12 clubs about the Super League, and rightly so. This is kind of creating a super team – guaranteed spots in the Champions League in a few years time.
‘It’s clear and we know it. In five to six years time, if the owners are patient, they will be a superpower. They have enough money to buy the whole league so maybe they fancy that.’
Klopp questioned how harshly clubs were actually being punished within Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules after the takeover and warned the Tyneside outfit that ‘money can’t buy everything’.
He claimed that ‘good decisions’ were more important than cash – pointing out that three clubs in the world were now owned by a country after PSG and Man City.
‘How Financial Fair Play is used, nobody knows these days. Is it still exisiting? Newcastle fans will love it, of course. For the rest of us there is just a new superpower in Newcastle. Money can’t buy anything, it will take time. They have enough money to make the wrong decisions and then make right decisions and they will be where they want to be.
‘The Premier League thought, “let’s give it a go”. It’s not the first time. It’s the third club who is now owned by a country, that’s what everybody has to deal with.
‘Much more important than money is good decisions. It will not happen overnight, Newcastle are not safe in the league this year, it is not 100 per cent they will stay in the league. There will be a lot of changes over the next few years.’
Klopp’s Liverpool will take on struggling Watford at Vicarage Road on Saturday while the Magpies welcome Tottenham to St James’ Park in what promises to be a jubilant atmosphere in the first game of their owners’ tenure.