Liverpool legend John Aldridge has said that Cody Gakpo “dodged a bullet” by not joining Manchester City in the summer, and has urged Liverpool to sign Erling Haaland if the club is forced to sell players.
Writing in his weekly column for the Liverpool Echo, Aldridge discussed Manchester City's 115 charges and the decision of Gakpo not to join the Premier League leaders.
Premier League statement and City's fight
Since the Premier League released a statement detailing all the wrongdoings Manchester City have been found guilty of, Aldridge said he was not surprised by the verdict or the extent of it. “I always knew it was going to come out. Especially after Pep left, it was obvious,” he said.
Aldridge said it is remarkable that City are still fighting the charges. “From what we've heard, they think they've got a case to fight it. It looks to everyone else, except Manchester City fans, that they haven't got a case to fight,” he told the Liverpool Echo.
“It's all about wealth and power, and a bit of arrogance. The arrogance of it. We're not just talking about football; we're talking about politics, governments. That shouldn't be in football. Football's a sport,” the former Reds striker added.
Domino effect and government involvement
Aldridge said the situation has “opened up a can of worms,” with teams going down, teams losing titles, and Champions League qualification all potentially affected. “If they are bang to rights, there are going to be a load of dominoes that fall. And who knows where it all ends up,” he said.
He also said that when the government starts to talk about things, “you sort of worry,” but added that the government has got nothing to do with football. “It's its own body. And it doesn't matter if the government loses out on billions and billions and billions, and then the country does, it doesn't matter. If you've done wrong, it doesn't matter,” he said.
City's response and Gakpo's decision
Aldridge said City will be “really up for the game at the weekend,” with Anfield set to be electric. He said City will be telling the players they are innocent and playing into the “everyone's against us” angle. “It's something to be wary of,” he said.
Regarding Gakpo, Aldridge said the player could have easily joined City in the summer. “We don't know what they were telling all these players they were after, but it looks like he has dodged a bullet, hasn't he?” he said.
Aldridge also suggested that if City do go down, players like Haaland will not want to play in the lower divisions. “Will they move to Barcelona, Real Madrid, PSG - get the same money as they get at City and go to a bigger club? That's what the agents will be telling them, because they get more money by moving them on,” he said.
“If they have to sell, Haaland's the first one you'd want. I'd love him at Liverpool,” Aldridge added.
