Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has issued a response to Mohamed Salah following his emotion-fuelled social media statement.
Ahead of the Reds’ final Premier League match against Southampton, Klopp sat down with the press to discuss his optimism heading into the close season and the Egyptian’s latest tweet.
Salah took to Twitter to claim he was “totally devastated” by Liverpool's failure to clinch Champions League qualification with Liverpool this season in the immediate aftermath of Manchester United's 4-1 win over Chelsea.
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He wrote: “There’s absolutely no excuse for this. We had everything we needed to make it to next year’s Champions League and we failed.
“We are Liverpool and qualifying to the competition is the bare minimum.”
He added: “I am sorry but it’s too soon for an uplifting or optimistic post. We let you and ourselves down.”
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Reacting to the post, the 55-year-old manager told reporters: “I read it. I’m worried about the headlines I’ll create with the things I say.
“After the last game when it was clear [Manchester United and Newcastle United] needed a point, I knew they would get it.
“I drew a line. I’m an optimistic person but at that moment I couldn’t see it.
"If it would have happened we would have gone for it.
Klopp then stated: “In the world of social media, so many bad things happen but [the tweet] that wasn’t one of them.
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“It was a normal description of his situation,” he continued. “I just saw him in the canteen and he is smiling; I didn’t ask him why, but that is his mood.”
The 2023/24 campaign will be the first time Liverpool won't play in the Champions League since the 2016/17 season.
Salah joined the Merseyside club for a reported £36.9 million in 2017, so this will be his first season playing with the squad in the Europa League.
The Reds will enter the competition in the group stage alongside Brighton & Hove Albion.
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Elsewhere in the press conference, Klopp said he’s unsure whether a failure to qualify for the Champions League will impact his summer transfer window.
He stated: “I don’t think [lack of Champions League will have an impact] but you never know.
“It is always possible and probably likely that things won’t go as big as you want because the better the player, the less the desire of the club is to let him go. We are prepared for that.”
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Liverpool travel to St Mary's for the final match of their 2022/23 Premier League season against Southampton.
Topics: Liverpool, Mohamed Salah, Jurgen Klopp, Champions League, Premier League
Ella Scott