I would have a bus parade if Manchester City were found guilty

Klopp also took a few light digs at fellow rivals Chelsea following their shock sacking of Mauricio Pochettino. “We should be very happy to have them (Fenway Sports Group, who own Liverpool) and not guys who bought clubs in London,” Klopp said. “I wouldn’t have survived a year at Liverpool.”

City deny any wrongdoing as the club await their hearing this autumn for 115 alleged financial breaches following one of the most dominant eras in football history.

Richard Masters, the league’s chief executive, declined to confirm an exact date for the hearing, but October or November has been pegged by insiders as the most likely month.

The charges against City include 54 failures to provide accurate financial information from 2009-10 to 2017-18, 14 failures to provide accurate details of player and manager payments from 2009-10 to 2017-18, five breaches of rules Uefa, including Financial Fair Play (FFP) 2013-14 to 2017-18, seven breaches of Premier League PSR rules 2015-16 to 2017-18 and 35 failures to co-operate with Premier League investigations December 2018 – February 2023.

The allegations came to light in leaked material published by German newspaper Der Spiegel. City has always said these leaked emails were obtained illegally. Potential expulsion from the league if, among the available punishments, the club was found guilty. The case cannot reach the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), but either side could appeal, prompting speculation that the saga could take years to resolve.

In a 2020 ruling, UEFA banned City from the Champions League for two seasons and fined them €30 million. However, the penalty was overturned by Cas.