'Blame me!' - Jurgen Klopp defends Liverpool owners FSG and insists splashing the cash would not have won more trophies as exit looms

The German is stepping down from his managerial role at Liverpool at the end of the season, insisting that he is "running out of energy". During his tenure, which began in 2015, he has won six major trophies, including the Champions League in 2019 and the Premier League the following year. And they have achieved it whilst still spending less than Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea, and Arsenal. Many fans have called on the Reds to up their expenditure to secure more silverware, however, Klopp has defended FSG's transfer policy.

He said in a press conference on Friday, via BBC Sport: "By this time it would be so easy in this job to blame the owners if I said, 'FSG could have spent more' but that's not it. We built two stands that will stay forever. We built this AXA training ground that will stay for the next 30, 40, or 50 years. We did it all the Liverpool way, which I love. That we didn't win the league with 97 points or the Champions League is fine. You could say we should have spent more money on a player, I understand that's a fan view but that can never be a professional view. If you want to blame someone for not winning the Champions League three times then you can blame me, nobody else. Everyone else brought us to that point."

Klopp is likely to go down as one of the greatest managers of his era and right up there with the best in the Premier League's history. This is backed up by the 56-year-old's win percentage of 60.7% across all competitions being the highest of any Liverpool manager with more than 50 games in charge at the club. Now, he will try to win some more silverware before exiting the Merseyside outfit this summer.

Since the former Borussia Dortmund boss joined Liverpool, only Manchester City have accumulated more points (716) than the Reds (671), with Tottenham third on 583. Klopp shares the joint longest winning run in the Premier League with Guardiola's Man City, with 18 consecutive victories between October 2019 and February 2020.

Liverpool, who are competing to win four trophies this year, are in FA Cup fourth round action at home to Championship side Norwich City on Sunday. The Reds are in the final of the Carabao Cup, are top of the Premier League, and are into the knockout stages of the Europa League, too.