BERLIN, GERMANY - Saturday, July 29, 2017: Liverpool's manager Jürgen Klopp chats with owner John W. Henry before a preseason friendly match celebrating 125 years of football for Liverpool and Hertha BSC Berlin at the Olympic Stadium. (Pic by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)

No pressure from Liverpool owners as “we are all together in this” – Klopp

Jurgen Klopp insists there is no added pressure from Liverpool’s owners to qualify for next season’s Champions League, despite the financial landscape in the pandemic.

The Reds have seen their Premier League title defence crumble as Man City ascend, with a glut of injuries hampering their ability to challenge for top spot.

This has seen the priority shift to ensuring a place in next season’s Champions League – ideally by finishing in the top four, but with winning this year’s tournament also a possibility – in order for Liverpool to remain successful.

Champions League participation has been a requisite for the Reds in terms of finances under Fenway Sports Group, while it certainly helps in attracting a higher calibre of player to Anfield.

But despite the financial implications of the COVID-19 pandemic and almost a year without a full stadium, FSG have not made any demands, as the club are “all together in this situation.”

“The main reason for qualifying for the Champions League was financial,” Klopp explained.

“It’s a great competition to be in, but for the club, it’s about [the fact] you want to excite some players to join.

“In the beginning, it was like this. I was sitting there and players had offers from clubs who played in the Champions League, and it was like ‘OK, sorry we can only offer either nothing or the Europa League‘.

LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - Saturday, October 17, 2020: Liverpool’s Thiago Alcantara (L) and manager Jürgen Klopp walk back to the dressing room at full time after an injury time winning goal was disallowed following a VAR review during the FA Premier League match between Everton FC and Liverpool FC, the 237th Merseyside Derby, at Goodison Park. The game was played behind closed doors due to the UK government’s social distancing laws during the Coronavirus COVID-19 Pandemic. The game ended in a 2-2 draw. (Pic by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)

“But apart from that, it’s always about finances. This year it’s no different, I would say.

“So of course, it would be very important yes, absolutely. But then it’s important [to know] you cannot change the [situation].

“I hope people still see that we do our absolute best and try absolutely everything to make it happen. We will see how that will end up.

“That’s it pretty much. It’s not that the owners or whatever called me and said ‘if you don’t qualify for the Champions League, then this or that will happen’, because we are all together in this situation.

“We all understand the situation. They know that we try absolutely everything to qualify for the Champions League again, that’s clear.”