'No chance': Klopp rules out Liverpool move for Messi
Jurgen Klopp says there is "no chance" of Liverpool signing Lionel Messi, however the German admits the unsettled Barcelona star would be a great addition to the Premier League.
Messi has told Barca he wants to leave after growing unhappy with the club's problems on / off the pitch.
The Argentina forward has been associated with a move to Manchester City, where he could link up along with his former Barca boss Pep Guardiola.
Paris Saint-Germain, Inter Milan and Juventus are also mooted as potential destinations for Messi if he gets his desire to quit the Camp Nou.
Klopp insisted he'd wish to have Messi, but made it clear the 33-year-old wouldn't normally wrap up at Anfield.
"Interest? Who doesn't want Messi within their team? But no chance," Klopp told reporters on Friday.
Liverpool finished 18 points ahead of second placed City last season because they won the English title for the very first time since 1990.
And Klopp conceded Liverpool's bid to wthhold the Premier League crown would clearly be under threat if Messi joined City.
However the former Borussia Dortmund boss believes it could be a significant coup for English football to have among the world's greatest ever players in the Premier League.
"It could obviously help Man City and make it more challenging to beat them," Klopp said.
"For the Premier League it could be great, but I am uncertain the Premier League needs that boost.
"Good player in all honesty! It could be interesting to see aswell. Messi hasn't played in another league, apart from Spain.
"Actually, I'd like to view it but I'm not sure I will."
- Intense season -
Liverpool return to action on Saturday if they face Arsenal locally Shield at Wembley -- just five weeks after clinching the title.
The shorter than usual close-season break is because of the late finish of the 2019-20 campaign as a result of the coronavirus.
Klopp's men have already been training for just two weeks and he acknowledges it will be a draining season with less space between games.
"Would I want to play an effective game after two weeks' preparation? No, but we knew it for some time," Klopp said.
"It took a while until we got any schedule but since we've known it we've accepted it 100 %. We have had two weeks' training and worked really hard.
"For us, like Arsenal, we plan a whole season - just about the most intense, probably, we've ever experienced in our lives because of the volume of games and enough time we've for that.
"It will be powerful but nobody is moaning. We are happy we are able to play at all. Time is still uncertain for all of us, not only in football."
Liverpool have made just one single close-season signing in Greece left-back Kostas Tsimikas from Olympiakos.
But, with a number of promising youngsters available, Klopp insists there is absolutely no urgency to generate fresh faces regardless of the spending of title rivals City and Chelsea.
"We will see how many other teams are doing, we will manage our situation like we always did. We will have how much we are able to or want to spend," Klopp said.
"I'm happy with what we've but we can look constantly for improvements. We can look for improvements internally as well, how can we improve the players and make them more ready for specific occasions."
