Klopp names Liverpool star who would have ‘gone through the roof’ without injuries
Jurgen Klopp has picked out one of his former Liverpool players who would have ‘gone through the roof’ without injuries as the Reds legend once again refused to rule out a return to management.
Klopp stepped down from Liverpool at the end of the 2023/24 season citing mental fatigue and has since taken up a role as Red Bull’s Head of Global Soccer.
He has repeatedly said he has no immediate plans to return to the dugout but has also stopped short of saying he will never come back amid innumerable reports of interest from Real Madrid.
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And speaking to Peter Crouch on the latest episode of the former Liverpool striker’s podcast, Klopp reiterated his stance after being asked if he might soon announce his retirement.
“No, no, no, I obviously have to say not yet because I still have time since I heard Roy Hodgson is coming back,” said the German, when asked about potentially returning to coaching in the future.
“In this moment, there is nothing. I love what I do. I’m a busy man, which is good, because I’m not good when I have nothing to do, to be honest.
“I can enjoy family, can enjoy spare time, go on holiday, but still work. At the moment, I miss nothing [about management].”
Reflecting on his time on Merseyside, Klopp told Crouch: “We fell in love with the city instantly.
“First, we were in a hotel, but we didn’t want to live in a hotel. It was nice, but we wanted to have something like a home until we find a real home.
“So we moved in a flat and at night time we always walked through the city, and it was really nice just to get to know the city a little bit. We just walked through.
“We all know Liverpool of course has rough parts, but it’s beautiful as well. And then you get to know more and more people and then it’s really difficult not to fall in love with it, because the people are special.
“That’s why it felt [like] home. I mean it was home for nine years and it still feels home. When I fly in, it’s coming home.”
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Klopp also picked out Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain as someone who could have become a Liverpool superstar if he hadn’t been so badly affected by injuries.
“But we all know Bobby was there obviously but the other two we had to buy other really good players, Oxlade,” said Klopp of Oxlade-Chamberlain.
“So they always gave us an extra something. Ox, with his dynamism, with his speed, without the injuries, Ox would have gone through the roof 100%.”
Oxlade-Chamberlain joined Liverpool from Arsenal for £35m in the summer of 2017 but made just 146 appearances in his six seasons at Liverpool.
