Liverpool: What did Jurgen Klopp say about Lionel Messi's World Cup win? | OneFootball

Jurgen Klopp makes no secret of his admiration for Lionel Messi.

The Liverpool manager has been very vocal over the years of his respect for Messi who, on the back of winning the World Cup with Argentina, is now widely considered by many to be the undisputed GOAT of men’s football.

While, yes, it was an opinion held by millions around the world long before Qatar 2022, Messi slotting that final piece in the puzzle into position has ended the conversation for many supporters who had been sitting on the fence.

And to do so while winning the Golden Ball and Silver Boot along the way, scoring in every single round of the competition for good measure, just put the icing on the cake.

Messi is currently still soaking up the celebrations surrounding Argentina’s historic triumph, but Klopp got back to business over the last few days as Liverpool returned with a Carabao Cup clash against Manchester City and Premier League encounter at Aston Villa.

And perhaps inevitably, Klopp was asked about Messi’s extraordinary triumph in Qatar along the way.

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What did Klopp say about Messi winning the World Cup?

In his pre-match press conference for the 3-1 Villa win, Klopp was urged to give his thoughts on Messi and Argentina conquering the world. At least, in a roundabout sort of way, that is.

According to the Liverpool Echo, Klopp was asked about Emiliano Martinez’s now-notorious behaviour in the wake of Argentina’s victory, but both wisely and nicely, decided to take it as an opportunity to tip his hat to the newly crowned world champions.

Dropping an answer so heartfelt and lovely that it was lauded by thousands of fans on Reddit, the German manager stated: “Nothing to say about it (Martinez debate), congratulations for winning the World Cup.

“It was really well deserved, a tough game and after 80 minutes the best final I ever saw in my life. It was absolutely special.

Video: Klopp’s wonderful reaction to Argentina’s World Cup win

“Argentina deserved it and when you saw the team and the country celebrating, then it probably hit the right country in difficult times.

“The greatest footballer in my lifetime, Lionel Messi, the way he plays football in this age should give us all a hint at how long footballers can perform at the top level. We shouldn’t close the books too early. It was a joy to watch him.”

Pure class from Klopp and you could just tell from his tone of voice that he meant every word of it.

And it’s no small thing for a contemporary of Messi, who has gone to battle with him on big occasions, to openly nail their colours to the mast and essentially proclaim him as the GOAT.

Then again, we shouldn’t be too surprised because, like we say, Klopp has been a vocal Messi fan for quite some time now and even went out of his way to get a selfie with the great man once upon a time…