Klopp froze out four players including "world class" star he never picked
The foundation for building a successful football team often involves trust and excellent leadership skills - and it's safe to say Jurgen Klopp has both in abundance.
Klopp, who arrived at Liverpool following the departure of Brendan Rodgers in October 2015, has transformed the Reds into one of Europe's most dangerous sides. During his tenure, the Merseyside outfit have won the Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup and Carabao Cup.
A key factor behind Klopp's success is his playing style. The German's tactical approach is based on his belief in the importance of pressing and counter-attacking. Klopp's Liverpool side have been renowned for their ability to force opposition teams to make mistakes after pressing from the front.
The 56-year-old's man-management has also helped him achieve so much during his career. Back in 2019, Fabinho claimed the Reds boss "has a different way of speaking to each player" and praised the way Klopp can develop his team individually and as a collective.
However, in recent months, Klopp has been ruthless. After failing to qualify for the Champions League for the first time since 2015/16, Liverpool underwent a summer of transformation. This meant several players were let go as the Reds freshened up their squad, with Jordan Henderson and Roberto Firmino among those to depart.
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Henderson claimed in an interview with The Athletic that he felt unwanted by Klopp and Liverpool before his move to Saudi Pro League side Al-Ettifaq was confirmed. Meanwhile, Roberto Firmino felt similarly to Henderson following his departure from Liverpool in the summer and recently admitted in his autobiography that 'the boss was avoiding me' at the start of 2023.
Jordan Henderson left Liverpool to join Al-Ettifaq in the summer (Getty Images)Henderson and Firmino were among the recent Liverpool players Klopp let go, but when the former Mainz boss took over at Anfield eight years ago, Mario Balotelli was enduring a dismal loan spell out at AC Milan. He would return to the Reds in the summer of 2016, supposedly informing his team-mates of his desire to be a part of Klopp's pre-season plans.
However, Klopp had already made his mind up on the Italian. "I can talk of Mario because that one is obvious," Klopp told reporters that July. "I heard a lot about him ever since I came here… Since he has been back here, he's been a good guy and I can't say anything different than that. It's not that he's come back and said: 'Who's the boss, I'm the boss, no sorry it's you'. It's not been that at all. Everything’s been good, it’s all okay."
"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."
Ahead of their pre-season tour in the United States, Balotelli was left behind in Liverpool and made to train with the club's Under 18s. It was a ruthless decision by Klopp, who bolstered his front line that summer with the signing of Sadio Mane from Southampton. As for Balotelli, he joined Nice on a free transfer.
Balotelli wasn't the only player banished to the reserves that summer, after Mamadou Sakho was sent home from the pre-season tour in the US after joining up with the squad late. The Frenchman had also been late for a team meal and missed a treatment session.
Mario Balotelli and Mamadou Sakho were both frozen out at Liverpool (Getty Images)That signalled the end for Sakho's time at Liverpool. "I have to build a group here, we have to start new here," Klopp said on Sakho, who later joined Crystal Palace in 2017. "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. It is private how he reacted. But we had no argument."
Lazar Markovic was another player to feel the brunt of Klopp's ruthless treatment. The winger, who was on loan at Fenerbahce when Klopp was appointed as the new Liverpool manager, struggled for regular game time upon his return to Anfield and spend further time out at Hull and Sporting Lisbon.
He played for Liverpool in a pre-season friendly against Tranmere in 2017, but was then left out of the Liverpool squad for the tour of Hong Kong. Klopp confirmed the Serbian was free to leave. "With Lazar, it's no secret that if he finds a club then we will negotiate. It was like this last year too," Klopp told Echo in July 2017. "He's a really good player. I like him as a person.
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"He's now fit and another one who is in the best shape since I’ve known him. Before he had problems with his groin but now he’s good. There will be a club out there who needs him." Markovic ended up having to wait until the following January to seal his next move, a loan spell to Anderlecht.
Lazar Markovic struggled for game time under Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool (Getty Images)A fourth ex-Liverpool star to have shown the exit door in brutal fashion was Loris Karius. Having made a catalogue of critical errors - including two in the Champions League final against Real Madrid in 2018 - Karius' Liverpool career went downhill from there, with Alisson taking his place as the club's No.1 goalkeeper.
After that, Karius was sent out on a two-year loan to Besiktas, before spending a season at Union Berlin. The German returned to Liverpool in 2021 and ended up sitting the final year of his contract without playing first-team football before signing for Newcastle in 2022.
"He is doing absolutely nothing wrong, he is in a really good shape and training very hard," Klopp said of Karius in in January 2022. "He is committed, the goalie coaches are fully committed, that’s clear. But before the season we made a decision. Obviously it was in the club’s interest as well that Loris finds a new club, stuff like this. That didn’t happen, so fine.
"We made a decision: he’ll be treated completely normally absolutely but we have the goalies. As long as we don’t have a massive situation here, our No.1 is Ali, our No.2 is Caoimh, No.3 is Adrian, No.4 is Marcelo and then there’s already four goalkeepers. We were never in a situation where we had to use the fifth one."
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