Liverpool manager has refused to apologize to Africans after claiming that the African Cup of Nations was a ‘little tournament’.
Klopp is set to lose two of his most important players in January to the showpiece in Mohammed Salah and Sadio Mane and he seemed not to have been pleased with this after their victory over Arsenal over the weekend.
“In January, there’s a little tournament in Africa, England is playing games – South America as well, can’t wait,” Klopp said after the Arsenal game.
The question arose once again after their win over Porto in the Champions League on Wednesday night and while he explained what he meant by his sentiments, he stopped short of apologizing.
“I didn’t mean it like that! I don’t know why you understand it like that. Come on. I didn’t call it a ‘little continent’. What I meant was – I said there’s no international break until March. A little tournament in January, I just meant it’s ironic. A big one, we lose our best players for the tournament.
“I am not a native speaker but if you want to misunderstand me, it was not my intention. You made something more of it. That is not too cool,” Klopp said.
There have been reports that the German is looking for new players for Liverpool in the month so as to cover the void that will be left by the two players.
