Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has questioned why the Premier League starts earlier than the other big leagues in Europe. The Premier League kicks off next weekend when the Reds host Norwich City on Friday evening but much of the rest of Europe do not return to action until later in August.
The Italian Serie A campaign begins a fortnight later, while the German and Spanish top flights kick off a week after the action in England with only France’s Ligue 1 mirroring the Premier League dates. Klopp says he doesn’t understand why the competition in England begins earlier than most and believes the authorities need to do more to give players more time off to recover from their exertions for both club and country.
“I spoke to [Napoli manager] Carlo Ancelotti,” said Klopp. “Italy has 20 teams as well [like the Premier League] and starts its season on 24 August. “Kalidou Koulibaly played with Sadio at the African Cup of Nations. He has four weeks holiday and is not even close to coming back. “I don’t know why we start that early. The Premier League is such a wonderful product. It doesn’t make sense.”
He added: “I love football. From my point of view we can play each week but somebody has to think about the players and nobody is doing it. “From time to time I start a discussion but then it’s like ‘he’s looking for excuses’. I don’t, especially not for me, but we have to think about these things and nobody, especially in England, is thinking about it. “The clubs want us to go on tours. With who? We can’t go alone. These are the situations.”
