Klopp launches a fresh attack on ‘brutal’ Ramos for Salah incident
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has launched a fresh attack at Sergio Ramos, describing the Real Madrid captain’s challenge on Mohamed Salah in the Champions League final as “ruthless and brutal”.
Salah was forced off in the first half of the match in Kiev in May after injuring his shoulder in a tussle with Ramos. The injury subsequently limited the Egyptian forward’s presence at the World Cup to two games as his national team finished bottom of Group A.
Speaking in Michigan before Liverpool’s International Champions Cup match against Premier League rivals Manchester United last night, Klopp was once again asked for his views on Ramos’ challenge that resulted in his team’s leading goalscorer being substituted early in the Champions League final.
“I watched that back, of course,” Klopp said. “Someone showed it to me immediately after the game. But if you watch it back and you are not with Real Madrid then you think it is ruthless and brutal. You don’t think, ‘Wow! Good challenge’. It was ruthless.
“I don’t think Mo would have always got injured in that situation, this time it was unlucky.”
Klopp also referenced the moment Ramos was perceived to have collided with goalkeeper Loris Karius, whose mistakes later in the game contributed to Madrid’s victory. Medical tests later confirmed Karius had suffered concussion.
“It is an experience we cannot have. I’m not sure if it is an experience we will have again. Go there and put an elbow to the goalkeeper, put their goalscorer down like a wrestler in midfield and then you win,” Klopp added. “That was the story. Ramos said a lot of things I didn’t like. As a person, I didn’t like his reactions. He was like, ‘Whatever! What do they want? It’s normal!’ No. It isn’t normal.
“If VAR is coming this is a situation where you have to look again, not to give a red card, but to say, ‘What is that?’
“If you put all of the situations of Ramos together – and I’ve watched football since I was five years old – then you will see a lot of situations with Ramos. In the final the year before, against Juventus, he was responsible for the red card for Juan Cuadrado.
“The world out there accepts that you use each weapon to win the game. People probably expect that I am the same. I am not.”
Despite his latest comments aimed at Ramos, Klopp insists he is not bitter about the the Spanish defender or the outcome of the final.
“If you write this people will say I’m weak, a bad loser or a whiner. I’m not. I accept it. You have asked me about it. It’s not like I wake up in the morning and think ‘Ramos!’ he said, jumping out of his seat. “I’m fine with it. We were a competitor. But in a final you need to have a bit of luck and we didn’t have it. Then there was [also] the situation with Loris.”
Go and put an elbow to the goalkeeper, put their goalscorer down like a wrestler and then you win. That was the story
JURGEN KLOPP