One of the most important signings of Jurgen Klopp‘s era was the acquisition of Mo Salah in 2017, and the Egyptian has now revealed what the manager told him before the transfer.
During Klopp’s reign, Salah became the club’s fifth-highest goalscorer of all time, won six major trophies and cemented himself as one of the club’s greatest-ever attackers.
None of this would have happened if Liverpool hadn’t decided to take him from Roma for under £40 million, and Salah remembers how Klopp put the seal on his move to Anfield.
Speaking to Sky Sports, the No. 11 said: “The first time we had a call and he was like explaining to me he wanted me to come here.
“Basically, he explained to me that look, he’s building a new team in the club and Sadio’s there (Mane) and Bobby’s there (Firmino), and he just wanted me to play in that side.”
Salah had previously played Premier League football, with Chelsea under Jose Mourinho, but didn’t fit into the manager’s style.
Under Klopp, though, it would be different.
Salah explained how the German helped assure him of this, recalling: “He said ‘I’m going to improve your football and also gonna give you freedom to do what you want’.
“And I was like OK, fine. I’m gonna come. I came and the rest you can see.”
This made Salah’s mind up for certain that he was to become a Liverpool player and, over the years, he has enjoyed a healthy working relationship with Klopp.
While the pair’s drive to win has put them at odds with each other on occasion, specifically over substitutions, there is no animosity.
Salah continued: “He improved me as a player for sure and I helped him a lot as a manager for sure. We helped each other a lot and we gave everything to the club to win trophies, everyone can see that.
“But the thing I take from that as a human being, as a person, if I am in trouble I can speak to him and ask as a person.
“I think we will keep the communication for sure forever, for life, because it is not just a relationship with work, we also take it outside and we are going to stay in contact forever.”
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