Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp is renowned for the close relationship he shares with every playing and non-playing member of his side. Many stars who have played under him have heaped praise on his man management skills but believe it or not, there are a few players who’ve had a fallout with the German.
#3. Martin Skrtel
Martin Skrtel was an excellent servant for Liverpool during a tough period for the club and in eight and a half seasons, he made 320 appearances for the club while winning the League Cup and winning the Liverpool Player of the Year award in 2012.
The Slovakian was in Jurgen Klopp’s first starting XI as Liverpool manager but soon, he was the fourth-choice center-back behind Dejan Lovren, Mamadou Sakho and Kolo Toure. In the summer of 2016, it was evident that Skrtel would be sold and Liverpool fans were sad to see a dedicated player leave even though it was time for the club to move on.
After Skrtel completed his move to Fenerbahce, a social media post put up by a friend of his was uncovered on Instagram and in the caption of the photo featuring the player and his friend, there were many hashtags including one with Klopp’s name in it. Translation of the hashtags from Slovakian to English revealed that they were insults aimed at Klopp.
Skrtel’s first comment on the post translates to “the last hashtag is top”. His friend then replies by saying “hope Jurgen won’t see it” and Skrtel replies “hope he does”.
After the post went viral, it was taken down but the damage was already done. Skrtel later posted an explanation on his Instagram account but it doesn’t take a genius to understand that he didn’t have the best relationship with Klopp at the time of his departure.
#2. Mamadou Sakho
From the squad Klopp inherited at Liverpool, the only defender who won the Champions League this year was Dejan Lovren. Who would have thought the much-maligned Croatian would outlive everyone else including Mamadou Sakho.
Sakho was a key member of Klopp’s side that made it to two finals in the 2015/16 season but he missed the final of the Europa League because he was serving a 30-day ban for allegedly violating an anti-doping rule. However, the fat-burner he took was not found in the list of banned substances by UEFA.
The following preseason while Liverpool were touring the US, Klopp sent Sakho back home for not respecting team rules. Klopp revealed that the Frenchman was late for the team’s flight, skipped a rehabilitation session (he was injured at that time) and was late to a team meal. Sakho later said that he apologized to his manager and teammates and also paid the fines but that was not enough for Klopp.
Sakho was subsequently demoted to the reserves and Liverpool attempted to sell him in the summer but the player stayed put. However, he did not play for the senior team despite Liverpool’s defensive woes and in September 2016, Sakho took to Snapchat to voice his frustration before Liverpool’s game against Leicester and Klopp responded by saying that the situation isn’t positive.
He spent the second half of the 2016/17 season on loan at Crystal Palace and following Palace’s win at Anfield, he performed a rehearsed handshake with match-winner Christian Benteke much to the annoyment of Liverpool fans.
The following summer, Liverpool offloaded him permanently to the Eagles.
#1. Ivan Perisic
Ivan Perisic is a key player for Inter Milan and Croatia and has been linked with a move to the Premier League for a while now with Manchester United and Arsenal among his potential suitors. However, before his fame at Inter, he played under Klopp at Borussia Dortmund.
The Croatian signed for Dortmund in 2011 and won the domestic double with the team in his debut season while also contributing with nine goals and six assists. The following season, he found playing time hard to come by as new signing Marco Reus became indispensable.
In an interview with Croatian channel Nova TV, he vented his frustration.
“I cannot be pleased with my situation at the club. I don’t get a lot of time on the pitch, very much like last year.
“We have no relationship. He is the best coach in Germany right now, the number one, everyone accepts the subordinate role and rightly so, what we achieved in Dortmund over the past few years is unique.
“The atmosphere in the team is perfect, but he has three to four players with whom he discusses things. The rest of us are pros, doing their job.”
Klopp didn’t take kindly to Perisic’s comments and hit back hard.
“Public whining belongs to kindergarten, not to the world of adults. If he doesn’t play, a football professional should shut his mouth, work hard and make the coach select him – not complain about it to the reporters.”
In January 2013, which was the very next transfer window, Dortmund sold Perisic to Wolfsburg and in hindsight, that was a bad decision. They reached the final of the Champions League that year but they were without the injured Mario Gotze in the final and Klopp had to replace him with the utility player Kevin Großkreutz. There’s no doubt that Perisic would have been a much better alternative.
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