Jürgen Klopp has described Mohamed Salah’s Liverpool career as “a beautiful movie with a happy end” and claimed the forward’s phenomenal output will be impossible to replace.
Klopp was in charge when Liverpool signed Salah for an initial £34m from Roma in June 2017 and, despite the occasional row, remains close to the 33-year-old. The pair exchanged messages on Tuesday after Salah announced he would be leaving Liverpool at the end of the season, 12 months before his contract is due to expire.
The Egypt international is third on Liverpool’s all-time scorers’ list with 255 goals to date and Klopp, back on Merseyside for a series of charity events in support of LFC Foundation, insists there is no like-for-like replacement for Salah in the game.
“This specific kind of player is irreplaceable,” said the 58-year-old, now head of global football at Red Bull. “I’m not sure there is even another one existing out there. There are other people playing on that wing with different strengths and qualities but it is the numbers Mo produces – they are unmatched from that position. The numbers for a winger are ridiculous. For a striker they are pretty much unmatched. So, if it is impossible, why should you try?
“I’m not in the role to advise anyone, but just bring players in and play the kind of football which can be successful. We lost Sadio Mané. What a player he was. Bobby [Roberto] Firmino, oh my God. On the day Gini [Georginio Wijnaldum] went, probably none of you thought: ‘That’s a big miss,’ until he was not there any more and then you thought: “Oh! He was the combination of technique, power and tactical discipline.’
“Then Hendo [Jordan Henderson] left, Milly [James Milner] went, but other players came in. That’s how it is. Don’t try to chase the shadows. Find a new way and play.”
Klopp is an honorary ambassador for LFC Foundation, the club’s official charity that aims to tackle social inequality, and will be part of the management team for a Liverpool legends versus Borussia Dortmund legends fundraiser at Anfield on Saturday.
The German admits Salah was not the easiest player to handle but said: “I can sum it up: I am really happy and proud that I was part of the whole journey.
“Great teammate, great guy – not great company when he’s not scoring,” Klopp added. “We criticise him for being selfish but then celebrate when he scores a goal after beating five men. We both know that we had these arguments, not big arguments. Like the one at West Ham, both of us, five seconds later, would have thought: ‘No, don’t do that in public, come on, rewind.’ Next morning it was already over, but it happens in public.
“We never lost respect for each other and that is what I really like. He didn’t like me for a second when I took him off after 87 minutes and you think: ‘Why?’ The time with him and Sadio together, they were a challenge, of course they were. Special players are a challenge. Tell me one who is not?
“Now it’s time, not for Liverpudlians obviously because there is still a lot to go for, but for me it’s a bit different and I can reflect. And what a time that was, and what a player he is. We kind of took it for granted but this team was ridiculous.
“That’s the thing in these moments – time stops for a second. And that means you watch the movie again. My big target was always that when I am old and grey I can look back and smile, and that is definitely the case. The Mo movie is a beautiful movie and to make it interesting you have to have a few edges in. It’s a beautiful movie with a happy end.”
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