Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp is either someone who refreshingly sees the world through rose-tinted glasses or is the consummate diplomat totally adept at parrying questions from the media with effortless ease. The award-winning FIFA manager of the year sees no reason why Mohamed Salah would ever want to leave Liverpool as he nonchalantly shot down rumblings that the Egyptian ace striker is angling for a move to sunny Spain, after the Reds’ leading scorer gave an interview to Spanish newspaper AS last week in which he was asked about playing one day for Real Madrid or Barcelona.
Although Salah’s was non-committal in his response, Klopp is seemingly unconcerned.
‘We could all look for something else if we want,’ he said. ‘But I think the only reason to leave Liverpool at the moment is the weather. What other reason could be there? This is one of the biggest clubs in the world, we pay good money. Maybe not the most in the world, but we pay good and we have a sensational stadium with outstanding supporters and we have a fan base all around the world.
‘Our colors are red, which is the nicest color anyway. You cannot force people to stay, but that is it. It is all about timing, the right moment, stuff like this.’
Then, when asked how he felt about Madrid and Barca circling, Klopp added:
‘We make changes and bring players in and if a player wants to go, we cannot hold them back. It is just I wouldn’t understand why they would want to go. When Mo answered the question it was that these clubs might be interested and he didn’t rule out that.
‘If you ask any player in the world who is not playing for Barcelona or Real Madrid, ‘Can you imagine playing here one day?’, would he say: ‘No! Spanish is not for me’. The only thing he said was we shall see and at Liverpool it is in the club’s hands. All fine.’
Klopp enjoys working with Salah, 28, who is contracted to Liverpool until 2023.
‘It is challenging in a good way. That is my job. The thing with footballers is they need to be extremely confident.’
In the interview with AS, Salah had expressed disappointment for having been overlooked to captain Liverpool in a recent Champions League game against FC Midtjylland.
Klopp admitted he did not realize how much the significance of wearing the armband had meant to his star striker, adding:
‘I spoke to Mo about it. Not before the game, after. Then I realized it did not work out that well, so I clarified it. He gave the interview. That is not a problem for me. Obviously he was disappointed. There is no problem.’
Hats off again to you, Jurgen, for having again so adroitly debunked another myth.