European Super League: Liverpool stars hit out at club´s breakaway plans

Liverpool’s players have put themselves firmly at odds with the club’s owners over the planned European Super League, stating: “We don’t like it and we don’t want it to happen.”

As rivals Manchester City pulled out of the controversial new competition, many of Liverpool’s biggest names posted or endorsed a message from the squad.

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp expressed reservations on Monday, as did veteran midfielder James Milner, but the latest development was flagged as a squad-wide rebuttal of the Fenway Sports Group’s plans to take the club into the ‘closed-shop’ league.

Among those to post the message on Twitter were captain Jordan Henderson, Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold. Virgil van Dijk re-posted Henderson’s tweet, with an arrow pointing to the statement.

It read in full: “We don’t like it and we don’t want it to happen. This is our collective position. Our commitment to this football club and its supporters is absolute and unconditional. You’ll Never Walk Alone.”

pic.twitter.com/X2ZFqJ9T4L

— Jordan Henderson (@JHenderson) April 20, 2021

The new league looked on the verge of collapse on Tuesday, less than 48 hours after being officially announced, as City decided to withdraw.

The rebellious stance from Liverpool’s players will need to be addressed by the club, given it puts the playing staff in direct conflict with the owners.

Kenny Dalglish, widely regarded as the club’s greatest player, was not as forthright as the current Reds stars.

Dalglish, who also twice had spells as manager of the club, wrote on Twitter: “The last few days have been difficult for everyone who loves Liverpool Football Club and I really hope we do the right thing.”

Supporters group Spirit of Shankly issued a statement that called into question FSG’s ongoing ownership of Liverpool.

It read: “Spirit of Shankly note with anger that club owners FSG are still hanging on to this shattered nightmare of a European ‘Super’ League.

“We are calling on the FSG board to withdraw our club from this catastrophic idea and consider their positions with immediate effect. To coin a previous campaign of ours ‘Not Welcome Here’.”

That slogan was previously used by the group as they attempted to pressure former owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett to leave Liverpool.