Liverpool manager has hit out at the Government’s handling of the coronavirus crisis, believing the situation in his home country of Germany looks like an entirely different planet.
Klopp takes charge of his side on their return to Premier League action on Sunday evening as they face Everton in the Merseyside derby at Goodison Park.
The Reds need just two wins from their remaining nine games to clinch their first ever Premier League title, but Klopp says he has been more worried about the vast loss of life during the global pandemic than the fate of the title.
Germany has reported just under 9,000 deaths from COVID-19. whereas the UK has seen over 42,000 people die as a result of it.
Klopp can scarcely get his head around how the figures are so shockingly different and this has been bothering him much more than football, and the prospect of the season being declared null and void, in recent weeks.
‘I was not worried for one second that the Government could cost us the title because I was worried about the numbers who were dying – and I’m still worried,’ said Klopp.
‘I didn’t vote for this Government. This Government was the choice of other people. And the problem I had was that I got the news from England and the news from Germany.
‘If aliens looked at us both from the outside, they would think we came from two different planets.
‘From a personal point of view, I don’t understand why we started wearing face masks in closed areas on June 15 when five or six weeks ago all the other countries were doing it.
‘You can argue about whether it makes sense to wear them, but all countries who started wearing face masks earlier have smaller casualty numbers than here in England. That’s the truth.
‘When I see the numbers here in England and then in Germany, I think. Look, it’s not perfect in Germany, people have died and have been ill. But, in terms of living your life, it is completely different.’
Klopp is clearly not impressed at all by the Conservative Government, as he took another shot at them while praising Marcus Rashford for his campaign to extend free school meal vouchers over the summer.
‘Marcus Rashford, I have to say, I couldn’t respect more what you did – it’s unbelievable,’ said the German.
‘It’s a bit of a shame you had to do it, but still unbelievable that you did it. It really shows that a person – not alone – but with his name and his effort can change really important things. We are all part of society and we are all involved in that.’
Liverpool take on their local rivals at 7pm on Sunday 21 June at Goodison Park as they look to take their lead at the top of the table back to 25 points.
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