Jurgen Klopp insists another mammoth Champions League windfall is crucial to help ensure that Liverpool continue to compete for the best talent and the biggest prizes.

A number of pundits, including Gary Neville, have argued that the Reds would be better off losing their last 16 tie to Bayern Munich so they can focus solely on the Premier League title race.

But Klopp laid bare exactly why it's so important that Liverpool emerge triumphant from Wednesday night's second leg at the Allianz Arena to extend their involvement in what he described as “a money throwing competition”.

The Reds' run to Kiev last season earned the club £72million in prize money and this time around the rewards are even greater after UEFA increased the prize pot by more than a third.

December's victory over Napoli which secured Liverpool's passage into the knockout stages was worth £11million alone and another £9million will be up for grabs against Bayern.

While some of their rivals are bankrolled by rich owners, the Reds have to live within their means.

“We all have to qualify constantly for Champions League. That’s what gives us the money to improve to do the next step and the next step,” Klopp said.

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“When we qualified by beating Napoli? I’m not sure how much but it was a lot of money in one game.

“I didn’t think a second before that game 'Oh my God! We have to earn this money for the club!' We only wanted to go through. After we got through it was like 'Wow! That’s proper!'

“It is a money throwing competition and we have to be in it as long as possible because we have to improve the situation for the club. It’s not like we always ask people 'Do you have some money? Do you have some money?'

“We have to earn most of the money for ourselves with the football that we play. That is exactly what you can do in the Champions League.

“If it happens, it will be a great night. If we doesn’t happen, it is not the end of the world, but I don’t think a second about it that it will not happen.”

Klopp annoyed by the perception 'Champions League hurting chances of Premier League win'

Neville argued that crashing out of the Champions League would enhance Liverpool's chances of beating Manchester City to the Premier League crown.

But Klopp dismissed that logic and has vowed to go flat out for glory on both fronts.

“They (pundits) talk constantly,” he said. “It is so easy to sit in an office or a studio and talk about things like that. We draw a season and say the best way to go through it is to go out of all the cup competitions early.

“You do that and in that moment the same people go for you like mad. It's like: 'You are disrespectful to the competition'. Now it is closer to the end of the season and it is allowed to go out of the Champions League without even trying to go through? That's really mad.

“That's the reason why they don't have a job on the sideline, one of the reasons. No criticism but it's a big difference to be in charge or to talk about somebody in charge. That's a massive difference.

“In all the competitions, we try everything we can to win them. We play proper, real football and we try to win every game.

“Now it's the next one, it's the only one we play on Wednesday night, so let’s try and win it.

“The player don’t prefer this or that, but they like this kind of game. There are only two interesting games in the whole of Europe that night.

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“Let’s play them, let’s watch them. This is the spotlight you want as a professional football player.

“It is important to everyone. The only thing I would say is that if we go out, maybe the fans won’t be exceptionally angry – 'how can that happen!' – because we still have a chance with the league.”