Jurgen Klopp admits he does not understand how Barcelona have been able to conduct their high-spending transfer plans, and has cautioned that the club may face irreparable damage down the line.
The Catalan giants have bolstered their ranks with a slew of major recruits ahead of the new campaign, including Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha and Jules Kounde.
But the club's long-documented financial struggles has seen them forced to sell off non-playing assets and activate various 'levers' in order to register them in line with rules laid out by La Liga.
Even then, the Spanish giants have not been able to get all of their new faces on board, with Kounde still waiting for sufficient cap space to be made in order to include him in Xavi's squad.
President Joan Laporta previously hit out at comments by Bayern Munich coach Julian Nagelsmann over their transfer dealings, but Liverpool boss Klopp concurs with his compatriot over their dealings.
"No, [I do not understand] for various reasons," he was quoted by Bild. "One reason is that I'm not a financial expert.
"[But] the second [is] if you tell me I don't have any money, then I don't spend anything anymore. I'm watching this like a football fan, I don't understand."
Barcelona have sold part of their stadium in order to secure the deals, effectively ransoming their future if their gamble fails to pay off.
Klopp speculated that such a move could lead to bankruptcy, and drew parallels to Borussia Dortmund, who sold their stadium rights and narrowly avoided financial ruin after Hans-Joachim Watzke took over in 2005.
"The only club I know that once sold the stadium and other rights in advance was Borussia Dortmund," he added. "Aki Watzke had to come at the last second and save the whole thing.
"I don't know if there is an Aki Watzke in Barcelona."
On this day in 2011: Liverpool sign Jordan Henderson from Sunderland
Liverpool signed Jordan Henderson from Sunderland on this day in 2011.
The deal for the 20-year-old England midfielder was reported to be worth £16million.
“Obviously it’s hard to leave your local club. I’m a Sunderland lad, I’ve supported them all my life,” Henderson told the Liverpool website.
“But this is a massive opportunity for me. I’m really excited by it.
“Coming to a massive club like Liverpool, there is always going to be competition.
“Hopefully I can keep working hard, keep improving, and get my chance on the pitch.”
Henderson picked up a winners’ medal in his first season at Anfield as Liverpool beat Cardiff in a Wembley penalty shoot-out to win the 2012 League Cup.
He became Liverpool’s vice-captain in September 2014 and was appointed skipper the following July after Steven Gerrard’s departure.
Henderson has gone on to lift seven trophies as Liverpool captain under Jurgen Klopp – the Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup, Carabao Cup, FIFA Club World Cup, UEFA Super Cup and Community Shield.
He was named the 2019-20 Football Writers’ Association’s Footballer of the Year as Liverpool ended a 30-year wait to become champions of England.
The 75-times capped Henderson has played 492 games for Liverpool, with only Jamie Carragher and Gerrard making more Premier League appearances for the club.
Dawson excited to see Messi head to MLS
Lionel Messi's impending transfer to Inter Miami will be a great tool to help MLS grow, says Michael Dawson.
Messi confirmed on Wednesday that he will join Miami after leaving Paris Saint-Germain as a free agent.
Barcelona wanted to re-sign the 35-year-old, but could not make the finances work, with Messi claiming he did not want a potential return to his old club to result in other players having to cut their salaries or be sold.
Now, a new venture in the United Stats awaits, and former Tottenham defender Dawson thinks it will be a huge positive for the growth of the sport in the United States.
Speaking to Stats Perform at an exclusive launch event for Club and Nike Members held at Alexandra Palace, Dawson said: "I always look back to the MLS when David Beckham went [in 2007 to LA Galaxy] and I always believe he was the start of the MLS improving and growing.
"You look at Cristiano Ronaldo going to Saudi [Arabia] and playing over there, it gives people a different interest.
"Messi [and Ronaldo], they are icons of football, the best players of my generation. So if you attract that to your country, to your league, it's only going to bring people watching it.
"I say the Premier League is the best league in the world. I've never played in a different country. Maybe that's something I would have maybe liked if the opportunity to come along.
"But with these kinds of players going over there, it will always attract interest from the supporters because as a fan, you follow Messi, you follow Ronaldo, and that's why the owners of these football clubs spend all the money to go and get them because they try and enhance their brand, their football team and their league."
Expanded competitions threaten well-being of ‘pushed to limit’ players – report
The expanded Champions League and Club World Cup pose a threat to the well-being of players who are already being “pushed to the limit” in the current calendar, according to a new report.
The men’s Player Workload Monitoring (PWM) report for the 2022-23 season from world players’ union FIFPRO has projected that changes to both competitions from the 2024-25 season could lead to an 11 per cent increase in the number of matches top players are involved in.
It looked at the example of Liverpool and Portugal forward Diogo Jota, whose 64 games for club and country in 2021-22 could rise to 72 in 2024-25.
The new 36-team Champions League would involve a team playing up to 17 matches from the league phase through to the final – four more than the current 13.
The new 32-team Club World Cup, due to be played every four years from the summer of 2025 onwards, could involve seven extra matches for the teams reaching the final.
The tournament has the backing of the European Club Association, but the World Leagues Forum – currently chaired by Premier League chief executive Richard Masters – is opposed to the plans.
The PWM report said: “The Club World Cup is expected to take place in June-July, which is just after the end of the long club season for the majority of participants.
“This will undoubtedly further decrease the off-season rest period for many players and raise concerns about their ability to fully recover in time for the new season. In addition, high travel load will also be associated to the tournament.
“The reforms of the two major tournaments will ultimately increase the number of games played by top players who could conceivably feature in both.
“This poses a threat to the well-being of players who are already pushed to their limit with the current international match calendar.”
The report found Manchester United and Portugal midfielder Bruno Fernandes played 74 per cent of his matches ‘back to back’ – without a gap of at least five days in between, including 20 consecutive back-to-back matches.
Chelsea’s January recruit Enzo Fernandez played 70 per cent of his matches back to back.
That was despite the midfielder having no off-season rest at all last summer, having played a first friendly for Benfica just eight days after competing in the Copa Libertadores for Argentinian club River Plate.
He also only had a nine-day break between featuring in the World Cup final for Argentina and reporting back for club duty.
The report also compared the workload of young players from the current generation to their predecessors.
It found England midfielder Jude Bellingham has already played 14,445 minutes in his professional career before the age of 20, while Wayne Rooney had only played 10,989 minutes before his 20th birthday.
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