Klopp has made Liverpool as alluring as Barca or Real for Mane, Salah & Co
THEY will come calling this summer, that is for sure, Barcelona and Real Madrid.
Most likely, it will be for Sadio Mane or perhaps Mohamed Salah – maybe even both.
Roberto Firmino might interest them, too.
It is the way of the footballing world, and the two Spanish superpowers probably still believe they have the cachet and the cash to acquire anyone they fancy.
And, granted, their names, their traditions, their cities, their success and their stadia make them magnetic draws for most footballers.
Who could blame anyone for wanting to perform week in, week out in the Camp Nou or the Bernabeu?
Or for wanting to experience the buzz of life in Barcelona or Madrid? Along with, presumably, a hefty pay rise? That is why Luis Suarez and Philippe Coutinho left for Catalonia.
Essentially, it was why Steve McManaman ran down his contract and went to Madrid 20 years ago.
To have worn the red of Liverpool and the white of Real with distinction is quite something to tell future generations.
You always suspect that, despite his emotional tie to his home club, Steven Gerrard might one day regret not having had a crack at Madrid.
So, if any player has his head turned by one of La Liga’s two true giants, it is perfectly understandable.
But one of Jurgen Klopp’s finest achievements has been to make Liverpool as alluring, as powerful and as magnetic as Barcelona or Real Madrid.
Just as it was in the late Seventies and Eighties.
And it is his force of personality, his management skills and his coaching prowess that have done this.
Spend any private time in Klopp’s (below) company and any supporter of any club would understand why players would run through brick walls for him.
Look at the way he sets up this Liverpool team, coaches it and you can understand why Firmino, Mane and Salah play with joy.
Most importantly, he has made players – and, indeed, supporters – feel they are part of an era, of something dynastic.
He has been at the club for
Accompanied by a picture of himself in the gym, Andre Gomes gives the uplifting news about his rehabilitation from that horrific injury just under three months ago. Many of us there that day feared for his career. Great news. over four years and the contract signed last month means he will be there for over four more years.
Never say never, but that Klopp will still be airpunching in front of the Kop this time in 2024 is as much of a certainty as anything in football.
That is why Mane and Salah would surely give themselves a reality check if their heads were turned by a Barcelona or a Real Madrid.
When he was sacked, Ernesto Valverde had Barca top of La Liga and finished top of a difficult Champions League qualifying group.
With new man Quique Setien, Barcelona are on their third coach since Klopp took over at Anfield and Real Madrid on their fifth (counting Zinedine Zidane twice).
Changing managers regularly is not a barrier to success, ask a Chelsea fan or, indeed, a Real Madrid fan.
But Liverpool players know what they have had, what they have now got and what they will be getting.
As by-products of Klopp’s work, Liverpool are re-establishing themselves as one of THE commercial forces in the game and it will not be long before they consider extending Anfield again.
This season, Klopp will provide more tangible success in the form of the Premier League trophy, at the least.
But it is also the intangible of making a club a special place to be that will keep his star players.
Maybe once the likes of Mane and Salah would not have needed asking twice about going to a Barcelona or a Real Madrid.
Now, they might not give such offers a second glance.