STAYING POWER
‘Selling club’ days are over.. we’re on a journey together and there are NO limits says Gomez
JOE GOMEZ believes a unique spirit of togetherness in the Anfield squad means the days of Liverpool being a selling club are over.
And the talented England defender issued a chilling warning to world football’s elite when he said: “The boundaries are limitless on what this team can achieve”.
Jurgen Klopp’s established stars, including Virgil van Dijk, Mo Salah ( far right, with the manager), Sadio Mane, Alisson and Roberto Firmino are all 27 or under… and crucially, all signed up for at least four more years.
When Gomez arrived at the club as a wide-eyed teenager in 2015, they had lost their biggest star Luis Suarez, then Raheem Sterling was tempted away as Manchester City made him a huge offer he couldn’t refuse.
There was a sense that Anfield was a stopping-off place rather than a final destination, a feeling made worse when Barcelona came calling for Philippe Coutinho.
Yet Klopp has rebuilt and now has a core of established players – including Trent Alexander-Arnold, Andy Robertson, Naby Keita, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Gomez – who all 25 or under.
That has generated a huge sense of optimism amongst the squad, with Gomez, 22, emphatically suggesting none of the first-choice stars will leave this summer.
“We are here together and here to stay and I think the boundaries are limitless,” he said. “We believe there is so much more to come.
“The manager said we are a team together, staying this way, and that is the main
thing. We have a foundation which will stay and only get stronger.” There are no prizes for guessing where that incredible sense of unity comes from.
When Van Dijk turned down the likes of City and Chelsea it was because he believed Liverpool offered so much more than money… a chance to belong to Klopp’s ‘family’.
The German sold the notion that winning honours with Liverpool and their special fans would mean more, would write history, and Gomez (below) passionately explained that he feels truly fortunate to be part of it.
“I am quite young but I know I am blessed to have a manager like him. Not just the tactical side of things but him as a person, that’s why there is such a connection.
“He shows us what it means to play for this club.” Klopp seems to have improved every player he’s signed or kept at Anfield, from youngsters like Alexander-Arnold to veterans like James Milner.
He also turned Coutinho into a world star… but the midfielder suffered a slump when he left for Barca, showing the grass may not always be greener when you leave to join a team of superstars.
“All of us have so much gratitude to have a manager like him, all the lads think the same,” added Gomez. “That is why we want to play for him, why we want to celebrate with him when we win.”
The bus journey around Liverpool on Sunday, when more than 750,000 people turned out to welcome them home, showed just what this team has achieved.
Gomez said: “It is what dreams are made of. Now we have something to show for what all the lads have done. It’s unbelievable, it’s history.”
History indeed. With much more to be written.