KLOPP DISMISSES TALK OF SALAH LEAVING ANFIELD

JURGEN KLOPP sees no reason why Mohamed Salah would ever want to leave Liverpool as he emphatically squashed suggestions the striker is angling to move to Spain. Liverpool’s leading scorer gave an interview to AS last week in which he was asked about one day playing for Real Madrid or Barcelona. Salah’s answer was noncommittal and he went on to express disappointment that he had been overlooked to captain his team in a Champions League game against FC Midtjylland. Klopp admitted he had not appreciated how much the possibility of wearing the armband had meant to Salah and has spoken to the Egyptian to explain his decision. But when asked how he felt about Madrid or Barcelona circling, Liverpool’s manager made it clear he is not concerned. ‘It is like this — we could all look for something else if we want,’ said Klopp (below, with Salah). ‘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 colours are red, which is the nicest colour anyway. You cannot force people to stay but that is it. ‘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 and would he say: “No! Spanish is not for me”. Why should he say that? The only thing he said was we shall see and about Liverpool it is in the club’s hands. It’s all fine.’ Salah joined Liverpool in 2017 and, after scoring more than 40 goals in his first season, was rewarded with a new contract in July 2018. It runs to June 2023 and, as things stand, Liverpool have no immediate plans to renew his terms as they work their way through the impact of the pandemic. Klopp enjoys the challenge of managing Salah and says the pair’s relationship is good. He knows how desperate the 28-year-old is to win the Golden Boot again and, one day, his ambition is to land the Ballon d’Or. ‘It is challenging to manage players in general because they are all human beings,’ said Klopp, whose side face West Brom tomorrow. ‘They are all different like you are all different. It is challenging in a good way. That is my job. The thing with footballers is they need to be extremely confident.’ On the issue of the captaincy, Klopp added: ‘I spoke to Mo about it. Not before the game, after. Then I realised it did not work out that well so I clarified it. ‘He gave the interview. That is not a problem for me. He was disappointed. There is no problem.’