Only certain members of Liverpool’s squad can touch the sign thanks to Jurgen Klopp, but the other 10 have the opportunity to change that later this month.
As many as 10 of Jurgen Klopp’s current Liverpool squad are banned from touching the iconic “This is Anfield” sign.
Since being installed by legendary manager Bill Shankly 50 years ago, it’s become an iconic symbol known by football fans around the world. “It’s there to remind our lads who they’re playing for and to remind the opposition who they’re playing against,” Shankly famously said at the time.
When Klopp arrived on Merseyside in October 2015, he brought a new meaning to the sign by putting a stop to the usual tradition of players touching it before they emerged onto the pitch before kick-off.
He explained: “I’ve told my players not to touch the ‘This is Anfield’ sign until they win something! It’s a sign of respect. I touched it when I was manager of Borussia Dortmund, but we lost 4-0.”
With Liverpool not having won a trophy since their 2022 FA Cup final triumph over Chelsea, that means new signings since then and youngsters who have graduated to the first team are forbidden from touching it.
Darwin Nunez, Cody Gakpo, Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai, Ryan Gravenberch and Wataru Endo fall into the former, while Stefan Bajcetic, Ben Doak, Jarell Quansah and Conor Bradley are in the latter category.
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They could all earn the right to do so when they face Chelsea in the Carabao Cup final later this month. Klopp of course delivered on his vow of bringing silverware to Anfield when the Reds won the Champions League in 2019.
“Boss wouldn’t let us touch the sign until we won a trophy… now is the time,” former midfielder Gini Wijnaldum posted on social media after their first home game following the victory.
