Real Madrid president Florentino Perez hits back at Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp
Real Madrid president Florentino Perez has hit back at Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp.
The Reds manager had expressed his unhappiness about Real Madrid's home stadium (Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano) during the UEFA Champions League quarter-final clash between the two sides.
Real Madrid had defeated Liverpool 3-1 at the Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano in the first leg of the quarter-final.
In the post-match interview, Klopp had taken a dig at Valdebebas (another name for Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano) and deemed it unfit to be called a proper stadium.
Los Blancos then went to Anfield and held the Reds to a goalless draw in the second leg to seal their place in the semi-finals.
Real Madrid's Florentino Perez was not happy with Jurgen Klopp mocking Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano and has now hit back at the Liverpool manager.
The Spanish club's president cheekily claimed they defeated Liverpool 3-1 on two occasions - once at Valdebebas and once in Kyiv three seasons ago. He said on El Larguero:
"Valdebebas? I don't know why he doesn't like it. For us, Valdebebas and Kiev [are] the same: 3-1. The same pitch."
What had Liverpool's Jurgen Klopp said about Real Madrid's stadium?
Liverpool had lost 3-1 at Valdebebas (aka Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano) in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals earlier this month. The Reds manager was not happy with the conditions and had claimed his side would make it difficult for Real Madrid at Anfield, a "proper stadium." He said:
"This is a training ground. It's as if we visited Manchester United and played at their training ground. It must be a really tricky task for Real Madrid at Anfield."
"This was strange tonight because it was really difficult with the stadium (at Madrid's training ground) but Anfield is at least a proper stadium and it will be good for us."
However, the Liverpool manager later retracted the claim and played it off as a joke. He said:
"I didn't want to be disrespectful. If they think that is the stadium they should play in, that's completely fine for me. They played the whole season in it. I know the situation."
"It's all fine but making a story about what I said is a real joke. If somebody thought I was disrespectful: sorry. It was not my intention."
Liverpool could not do much at Anfield and failed to break the Real Madrid defense. The 2nd leg ended in a goalless draw as Los Blancos made their way to the semi-finals, where they will face Chelsea next week.