City’s Gundogan says Liverpool deserve to be champions

Manchester City midfielder Ilkay Gundogan says it would only be “fair” for rivals Liverpool to be awarded the English Premier League trophy if the season cannot be completed due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Gundogan told German broadcaster ZDF that Liverpool deserved to be crowned champions given their massive 25-point lead over second-placed City, the current holders, which has left them just two wins away from the title.

“For me, that would be okay, yes,” Gundogan said, on being asked whether Liverpool should be handed their first top-flight title for 30 years should the season not be completed.

“You have to be fair as a sportsperson,” he added, while conceding that it was a difficult decision for football authorities given the impact that the cancellation of the season would have at both ends of the table.

“There are different opinions. For clubs who have had a very good season, it obviously wouldn’t be nice if it was cancelled now,” he said.

“On the other hand, for clubs who aren’t doing as well and are maybe in the relegation places, an abandonment would obviously suit them.”

The Premier League leaders Liverpool were on the verge of their first top-flight title when English football was suspended earlier this month. The virus shutdown has since been extended until at least April 30 but Liverpool do not know when, or if, they will get a chance to complete the job.

German international Gundogan also said he would be open to taking a pay-cut should English clubs follow the likes of Juventus and Borussia Dortmund in asking their players to accept reduced wages so non-playing staff can be paid.

“Of course I think it’s okay, that goes without saying, (but) there’s been no discussion in England yet,” he said.

“Perhaps that’s because the English clubs are a bit financially stronger than the clubs in Germany at the moment.

“I don’t know who has the final say in that decision. On the other hand, if a player says, ‘no, I don’t want that, I worked hard for it, I get my salary’, then it can go in the opposite direction.

“For me personally, it would be okay but, to be honest, you have to be tolerant and if there are players who are against that, then that’s also an acceptable situation.”

Figures on Sunday revealed that 1,228 people with coronavirus have died in Britain. Prime Minister Boris Johnson is among more than 19,500 people who have tested positive for COVID-19.

Aleksander Ceferin, president of European football’s governing body UEFA, said on Saturday that the 2019/20 campaign could be “lost” if it could not be restarted by the end of June.

Gundogan conceded that Premier League chiefs were faced with a difficult choice.

“There are different opinions,” he said. “For clubs who have had a very good season, it obviously wouldn’t be nice if it was cancelled now.

“On the other hand, for clubs who aren’t doing as well and are maybe in the relegation places, an abandonment would obviously suit them.”

Cancellation would have a knock-on effect on the second-tier English Championship, with both Leeds United and West Brom occupying the two automatic promotion places.

The idea of the entire season simply being cancelled stirs panic in fans of clubs such as Liverpool — on the cusp of lifting their first title in 30 years.

Ceferin did not say when UEFA will issue a final ruling and stressed that consultations with the main leagues and clubs were still underway.

The Slovenian added that he personally opposed the idea of holding big matches behind closed doors.

Belarus remain the only European nation still playing football in the face of a pandemic that has officially claimed around 28,000 lives worldwide.

Italy suspended its Italian League season on March 9.

Agencies