Manchester City celebrated their fourth successive Premier League title but aimed a subtle dig at Liverpool on social media.
Pep Guardiola lifted his sixth English title with a 3-1 victory over West Ham on Sunday thanks to goals from Phil Foden and Rodri.
It was Arsenal who went closest to ending City’s recent dominance after Liverpool’s title challenge faltered in the closing months of the season, finishing third in Jurgen Klopp’s final campaign in charge.
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Earlier in the season, Liverpool defender Trent Alexander-Arnold raised eyebrows when he suggested winning the title at Anfield ‘meant more’ due to City’s spending.
He said: "Looking back on this era, although they've won more titles than us and have probably been more successful, our trophies will mean more to us and our fanbase because of the situations at both clubs, financially. How both clubs have built their teams and the manner in which we've done it, probably means more to our fans.”
After City secured their title at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday, the club’s official X account aimed a subtle jab at the England international’s comments.
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They wrote: “THIS MEANS FOUR” with four trophy emojis.
Not long after Liverpool said goodbye to Klopp, Linda Pizzuti - wife of club owner John Henry - responded to the post on her Instagram account.
She posted a picture of the social media post with the caption: “A sincere congratulations to Man City - Premier League Champions!
“So much respect for this tremendous achievement.”
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She ended her caption with a subtle jab of her own writing: “Thanks for thinking of us on your special day.”
Speaking on his final day as Liverpool manager, Klopp admitted he was proud of Liverpool’s success doing it the ‘Liverpool Way’ and not overspending like his Premier League rivals.
“For us, it is the Liverpool Way,” he said. “We do it properly and do it the right way; we don’t overspend, we always spend what we earned either on the team, a stand or a building.
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“This is a healthy club. You can say Barcelona are not healthy, but they are still up there. I don’t think we could do it that way.”
He added: “It is really healthy, a very vital club with a wonderful training ground, sensational stadium, financially not bad.
“That is what I am most proud of, that we could manage that, with all the things that happen over the years, in crazy times, we never overdid it.
“These points deductions and stuff like that, it’s horrible.
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“I am not sure they cheated on purpose but somehow they knew, ‘mmmm, it’s probably not 100 percent right but maybe we can get through that’, and obviously they couldn’t.
“I really like the way we did it.”
Topics: Manchester City, Liverpool, Premier League, Pep Guardiola, Jurgen Klopp, Trent Alexander-Arnold
Marcus Banks