In Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp’s profession, it is seemingly impossible to remain friends with absolutely everyone that walks through the door.
Jurgen Klopp is a manager that many throughout the sport either sing the praises of having worked with him, or long for the opportunity to share a dressing room at some stage in their careers.
Though that cannot always be the case. To be the best, one has he be ruthless, so doing what is necessary to put his club in prime position to win has been a necessity in Klopp’s quest to rebuild the club.
It has been that way ever since inheriting the squad passed onto him following Brendan Rodgers’ departure, right through to present day with players that he brought to the club.
And that, unfortunately, has sometimes led to the German creating enemies of sorts. Here the ECHO explores the few Liverpool players that have spoken out about their former manager once stepping away from Anfield:
Jordan Henderson
The former captain of the club will always be remembered fondly. He may not possessed the prestige of English midfielders in the generation before him, but you don’t lift eight trophies for a club – seven of those as captain – without creating a legendary status for yourself.
But when matters took a turn for the worse in the 2022/23 campaign and it became apparent that the previously strong base of the Reds’ midfield were no longer able to sustain the intensity levels required to qualify for the Champions League, something had to be done.
Last summer saw the biggest revamp of one area of the squad in the Klopp era, with four midfielders arriving whilst Henderson was one of five members of the engine room to depart. The 33-year-old made the controversial £12m switch to the Saudi Pro League, signing for Al-Ettifaq, managed by Steven Gerrard.
That move didn’t work out in the slightest and he has since returned to Europe to play for AFC Ajax, though not before revealing his thoughts on his Anfield exit.
Last November, Henderson stated that whilst he has not fallen out with Klopp, he disappointingly felt unwanted by his former coach and club staff.
“There were a few things that sent alarm bells ringing,” the England international revealed. “I’ve got a very good relationship with Jurgen. He was very honest with me. I won’t go into detail about the conversation because it’s private, but it put me in a position where I knew that I wasn’t going to be playing as much. I knew there were going to be new players coming in my position.
“And if I’m not playing, as anybody will know, especially the manager, that can be quite difficult for me and especially when I’ve been at a club for so long, I’ve captained the team for so long. Especially when England’s a big thing for me. You’ve got the Euros coming up.
“Then there was an approach from Ettifaq to the club to see if it would be possible for me to go there. The reaction from the club again wasn’t to say no. At that moment, I felt as though my value or the want for me to stay, with the manager and within the club, maybe it had shifted.
“Now, that’s not to say that they forced me out of the club or they were saying they wanted me to leave but at no point did I feel wanted by the club or anyone to stay. If one of those people said to me, ‘Now we want you to stay’, then we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”
Mamadou Sakho
On the other hand, Klopp has experienced some true falling out with members of his Reds squad. Looking back at the formative years, the major incident came involving Mamadou Sakho.
The former Paris-Saint Germain captain had established himself in the starting XI prior to his new manager’s arrival, and even scored a crucial header to help overcome Klopp’s former club Borussia Dortmund in a memorable Europa League quarter-final during their first campaign together.
That 2015/16 season ended with the Frenchman being investigated by UEFA for allegedly violating a doping rule, though he returned in time for the following pre-season. The consequences ended up disastrous as Sakho’s disruptive behaviour led to his early flight home from the club’s United States tour.
“I have to build a group here, we have to start new here,” Klopp said on the eve of his first full season in charge. “So I thought maybe it made sense for him to fly home to Liverpool and after eight or 10 days when we come back we can talk about it. It’s not that serious.
“He nearly missed the departure of the plane, he missed a session and was late for a meal. We have some rules and we have to respect them. If somebody doesn’t respect it or somebody gives me the feeling he is not respecting it then I have to react that’s all.”
Though the boss’ dismissal of events were clearly not representative of the bigger picture as Sakho remained in exile upon the campaign’s start. He was training with the Under-23 squad whilst rejecting interest from Stoke City and West Bromwich Albion, and eventually hit out at his treatment in a rant posted to his Snapchat at 3.00am.
‘Now it’s three weeks I am fit to play games. They don’t want me to play with segonde (U23s) team lol,” the defender wrote. “Still working hard like Scouse Soldier! Still not talking cos I want to speak on the pitch…. I will speak soon for the people who support me and don’t understand the situation.
“Still happy to live in my Liverpool Country with my family, hope to have chance to play soon to give my best like I try to always do! I accept my situation but I can’t accept the lie…. the fans deserve to know the true! Thanks for your support six months stay quiet. Have good night everybody! You’ll never walk alone!”
Sakho never played for Liverpool again, with the club recouping £26m in total from his sale to Crystal Palace. He stayed with the Eagles for four years before joining Montpellier for free, where last year he had an altercation with coach Michel Der Zakarian. The 34-year-old was labelled a ‘cry-baby’ and subsequently left the club.
Mario Balotelli
Mario Balotelli never so much received a look in once Klopp joined Liverpool as manager. The striker who managed only four goals in all competitions during his one-year stint in the first team and had made a controversial name for himself was out on loan in the 2015/16 season, and upon his return was deemed surplus to requirements.
“He’s not at the stage of his career where he should be battling with four or five other players for one or two positions,” Klopp said in pre-season. “We want Mario to become the player he was before his injury. The talent is still there – no doubt about it. When we have done the crossing, heading and stuff (in training), he’s been world class.
“But this is not a situation where he should be battling with other players like this for one position so it’s clear we need a solution.”
The Italian wasn’t involved in the United States tour that summer, then was allowed to join AC Milan on a free transfer on deadline day. After that Klopp was not an entirely popular figure with the player’s agent Mino Raiola, who branded the manager “a piece of s***” over the situation.
Balotelli himself later added: “Klopp does not know me and I do not know him. I was back in Liverpool a month and a half and I spoke to him once.
“He explained to me that I could stay there but I was not his first choice and he told me it was better if I went somewhere else. If I got games, did well, I could come back but I said goodbye and thank you, and that we wouldn’t be seeing each other again.”
Lazar Markovic
Again, it was a case of a player that Klopp inherited – one that had been underperforming under Brendan Rodgers compared to the price tag he initially commanded.
Lazar Markovic had been on loan to Fenerbahce when the German was named as manager in October 2015, and after the player returned the following year he was subject to further loans to Sporting CP and Hull City. Eventually in 2017, it was confirmed that he was free to leave Merseyside for good.
This still didn’t work out and after six months with the Under-23s, the Serbian eventually secured a January loan to Anderlecht. Whilst there he slammed his parent club’s handling of his situation over the previous years.
“It’s to show that I’m still the same player, to show the people at Liverpool that they can’t treat me that way,” he told Belgian newspaper DH. “Yes, it’s okay to take it personally when you are not let go because they’re asking for an unrealistic transfer amount.”
