Frank Lampard disagrees with Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool claim about Man City and Newcastle

Jurgen Klopp said state-owned clubs have ‘no ceiling’ on what they can spend but Everton manager Frank Lampard believes it does not mean other teams can’t compete.
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Everton boss Frank Lampard has rejected Jurgen Klopp's suggestion that it is impossible to compete with state-backed clubs such as Manchester City and Newcastle.

The Liverpool manager made the claims ahead of his team earning a 1-0 win over Pep Guardiola's men on Sunday to close the gap between the sides to 10 points.

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Lampard accepted that deficit perhaps shows that things might not have gone to plan for the Reds this season, but says previous campaigns have proven they can go head-to-head with City.

And, ahead of the Toffees taking on newly wealthy Newcastle on Wednesday, the ex-Chelsea supremo refused to condemn an ownership model that provides the two clubs with almost limitless wealth.

He said: "Liverpool have competed with [Manchester City] with great coaching, great players and great recruitment.

"They brought in Virgil van Dijk and Alisson and all these players and while being strong they can keep restrengthening and all those things.

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"You view it at this moment in time with Liverpool and the form they've had, [but] they're clearly going to be back up amongst it.

"I understand what [Klopp]'s saying to a degree, I can probably say the same with Newcastle. We're not there because they can spend £200m in two windows and we can't, our net spend is much less, so you just get on with what you have.

"If that's his point then I completely get it, but the debate afterwards that's carried on is whether it should be allowed and these clubs are fighting on a different level.

"Maybe they are but maybe that's just the Premier League and the way it is and I don't think it's the worst thing."

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Lampard's playing career saw him play a key role in the Roman Abramovich revolution at Chelsea, which saw the west London club dominate English football thanks to a wave of lavish spending.

The former England international also briefly represented Manchester City and, as such, has nuanced views on whether that sort of ownership should be permitted.

He continued: "I think in modern football everyone has a different position, a different perspective, and sometimes it changes.

"Sometimes I think it's the reason we embrace and love the Premier League.

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"I lived the Chelsea story as a player, I viewed it and touched on it as a Manchester City player for a year. And there are a lot of stories within it on a football level purely that you can just embrace and love.

"I saw City got voted the 'Club of the Year' [at the Ballon d'Or] last night for the many, many good things I know they do on and off the pitch.

"Everybody's different and the thing with Financial Fair Play for me is a bit strange, I never understand it because if it was financially fair there are a lot of teams that have a lot more income than we do and can spend a lot more on players and wages.

"That's the story of the modern game, so it's all relative. That's where I stand on that one."