Football
Glenn Price, Liverpool correspondent 7y

Jurgen Klopp hopes PSG's buyout of Barcelona's Neymar an 'exception'

MUNICH -- Jurgen Klopp hopes the transfer fee in Neymar's impending world-record move to Paris Saint-Germain is an "exception" and questioned whether UEFA's Financial Fair Play (FFP) has any effect on a club's spending power.

Barcelona, who confirmed Neymar intends to leave the club, are demanding PSG pay the Brazilian's €222 million buyout clause, which would smash the previous transfer record of Paul Pogba moving to Manchester United from Juventus for £89.3 million last summer.

UEFA introduced FFP in 2012 to try to reign in spending at top clubs and level the playing field.

La Liga president Javier Tebas has said he is ready to file a complaint about PSG to UEFA and the European Union for what he feels are clear breaches of FFP over their pursuit of the Brazilian.

"There are clubs who can pay fees like that -- Man City and PSG," Klopp said of the potential Neymar deal on Wednesday night. "Everyone knows that.

"I thought that [Financial] Fair Play was made so that situations like that can't happen. But that's more of a suggestion than a real rule. I don't know and I don't understand that. I don't know how it happens.

"That's not the next step, I hope. I hope that it will stay an exception, but you don't know."

Klopp was speaking to a news conference at the Allianz Arena after Liverpool's penalty shootout defeat to Atletico Madrid in the final of the Audi Cup.

The fixture was the Reds' penultimate friendly of the summer ahead of their Premier League opener at Watford on Aug. 12.

Klopp faces a selection problem at right-back for the start of the new season, with Nathaniel Clyne virtually ruled out of the first game of the 2017-18 campaign through injury.

The Liverpool boss looks set to chose between Jon Flanagan, 18-year-old Trent Alexander-Arnold and Joe Gomez, who played centre-back and full-back against Atletico, as a replacement.

"Joe can play both positions, so it makes absolute sense that he is tried in both positions, especially in our situation with Clyney," Klopp added.

"He [Clyne] is injured but on the way back, but he had no preseason so far. So, for him, it will not only be tight until Watford, it's pretty much impossible.

"We have, in this moment, three options for this position -- Trent, Joe and Flanno. All of them played the position and we have to bring them through in the next one and a half weeks.

"Hopefully Clyney will be back after this and then we have to make a decision."

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