Klopp admitted 'mistake' in private Salah chat after Liverpool captain snub
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has to oversee changes in the club’s captaincy group this summer having previously had to explain to Mohamed Salah why he had been overlooked.
Long-serving Reds club captain Jordan Henderson has completed his move to Saudi Arabian club Al-Ettifaq, following on from the departure of vice-captain James Milner, who ended his long spell at Anfield to join Brighton.
Henderson’s long-term Reds teammate Fabinho is also set to move to the Middle East, with a deal agreed with Saudi champions Al-Ittihad. Al-Ettifaq will pay around £13m for Henderson, who has ended his trophy laden 12 years on Merseyside.
“It's sad, absolutely strange, because he is the only captain I had here at Liverpool,” Klopp would concede when paying an emotional farewell to the midfielder. The German boss now must oversee changes in the club’s leadership group.
Virgil van Dijk is the outstanding candidate to be captain due to his leadership and influence, having been third choice behind Henderson and Milner for the role in recent years. Joe Gomez has also symbolically captained the team on the basis of him being their long-serving player, yet his place in the starting line-up is far from assured.
Chelsea complete record-breaking Enzo Fernandez transfer after deadline day rush
It is unclear who will form the new leadership group, although Andy Robertson captained the team twice last season – against Brighton in the FA Cup and a Premier League clash at Wolves.
Van Dijk is set to be the new Liverpool captain after Henderson's exit Have Your Say! Which four players should be in Liverpool’s new captaincy group? Tell us what you think here.
Other contenders include Alisson Becker, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Salah, but the Egyptian was left “very disappointed” by Klopp’s decision not to hand him the armband in a Champions League clash against Midtjylland in 2020.
"Honestly, I was very disappointed," Salah told Diario AS after the game, in which Van Dijk, Alisson, Henderson and Robertson were all not available. "I was expecting to be the captain. But it's a manager's decision, so I accept it."
Klopp instead had instilled Alexander-Arnold to lead out his side that night and explained how he had to explain the decision to Salah after. However, the boss admitted he made a mistake – as it should have been Divock Origi who was captain, on the basis of him being the longest-serving club player to start.
"I was captain for a long time in my career, and what a heck of a job it is because there are not a lot of benefits you get, just a lot of work with all the things around," Klopp said in the aftermatch of that decision. "I didn't feel or do feel the importance of being captain.
"Yes, we have a captain like Hendo and that is important, but to be a captain for one game. I didn't realise how important that can be to players because in this world now, everything is a big story. I didn't realise it was that big a story for Trent. The rule here is there is a players' committee and it is Jordan Henderson, James Milner, Virgil van Dijk and Gini Wijnaldum.
Klopp added: "So I didn't make it that complicated, I just gave Trent the armband. And I spoke to Mo about it after the game and when I realised it didn't work out that well, I clarified that and he said it again in the interview, so not a problem for me.
"He said he was disappointed and I didn't do it on purpose, I just did what I did. If I made a mistake then it was that Divock Origi was not the captain."
Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
