Jurgen Klopp is not only a brilliant football manager, but a pretty exceptional person, as well.
In the past, he’s spoken superbly about Brexit, politics in this country and the need for kindness – as well as showing an ability to call out nonsense when it pops its head.
This week, Liverpool’s boss went viral worldwide after his opinion on the coronavirus was shared to both football and non-football fans.
Essentially, Klopp showed dismay that he was even asked about the epidemic – stating that the views of famous people mean little and that we should be instead hearing far more from experts.
He’s absolutely spot on, of course.
“It’s not important what famous people say… My opinion about corona, it's not important."
Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp says only “people with knowledge should talk about” the novel coronavirus outbreak. pic.twitter.com/UwC9HrG7Em
— Channel 4 News (@Channel4News) March 4, 2020
Rb Leipzig manager Julian Nagelsmann has given a similar answer to the press following Klopp’s comments – as tweeted by Bundesliga expert Ronan Murphy.
RB Leipzig's Julian Nagelsmann was asked about the impact of coronavirus: "You’re not asking virologists how we’re going to play against Wolfsburg."
Can any virologists answer a few questions for me about this weekend's Bundesliga, please? 🤔
— Ronan Murphy (@swearimnotpaul) March 5, 2020
The Premier League has bizarrely cancelled the pre-match handshake ahead of this weekend’s matches, which when you consider football is a contact sport and the players spend 90 minutes spitting on the floor and clearing their noses, makes little sense medically.