Ahead of the midweek club friendly against Bayern Munich and Liverpool, Reds boss Jurgen Klopp hit out at the Saudi Arabian summer transfer window. Yes, the Saudi Pro League has been making major moves this summer, and it has been one of the major football storylines this summer.
Fabinho became the latest Liverpool player to move to the Saudi Arabian peninsula, joining the likes of Jordan Henderson and Roberto Firmino.
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Kickoff: Wed. Aug. 2, 12:30 pm BST, Singapore National Stadium
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And just now, we learned that Liverpool legend Sadio Mane is transferring to the Saudi top flight as well.
At a news conference earlier today, Klopp was asked about the influence that the Saudis are having on the world’s game right now. He called on FIFA and/or UEFA to intervene, as the Saudi transfer window is longer in duration than the European counterpart.
“It is massive, in the moment,” Klopp said.
Pretty much the worst thing I think is that the transfer window in Saudi Arabia is open three weeks longer. If I am right — I heard something like that — then, at least in Europe, that’s not helpful.”
“UEFA or FIFA must find solutions for that. But in the end, at this moment, I don’t know exactly what will happen.” Strong words from a strong leader who will no doubt field a strong team on Wednesday night. We think it looks like that.
Liverpool FC Starting XI Prediction vs Bayern Munich (Club Friendly)
Alisson; Trent Alexander-Arnold, Ibrahima Konate, Virgil van Dijk, Andy Robertson; Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai; Luis Diaz, Darwin Nunez, Mohamed Salah; Cody Gakpo
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
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