“It is not the right thing for a manager to speak to players about contracts.”
Jurgen Klopp has insisted that he is not involved in contract talks with the Liverpool players, stating that he leaves it to the director of football to deal with.
The German has been asked on a number of occasions about the future of Mohamed Salah, with his – as well as Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino – contract set to expire in 2023.
While it is obvious that the Reds boss wants the Egyptian star to stay long term at Anfield, he has no direct involvement in negotiations – appearing to show frustration in recent weeks when quizzed on the topic.
When asked about the role a director of football plays at Liverpool, Klopp explained that it allows him to maintain an important distance from his players when it comes to discussions about money.
“I speak to players constantly but it is not the right thing for a manager to speak to players about contracts,” he said.
“You need someone in between. For the player that is the agent, for the club it is the sporting director.
“When a player is very important for you and you say ‘you can have this or that’ and he doesn’t want to hear it and says ‘I think I’m worth more than that!’…this conversation shouldn’t happen with the person who is responsible for football things.”
💬 "I speak to players constantly. I do that but it's not the right thing that a manager speaks to player about contracts."
🗣️ Jurgen Klopp spoke about the importance of a Sporting Director following the news that Michael Edwards will leave #LFC in 2022
🔊 Sound ON pic.twitter.com/TZyjPMEaNM
— BBC Sport Merseyside (@bbcmerseysport) November 20, 2021
Michael Edwards – Liverpool’s current sporting director – is set to leave the club at the end of the season, with deputy Julian Ward confirmed as his successor.
Klopp insists that it is a crucial role which helps to take the pressure off the manager.
He said: “If I would have come here 10 years ago and told you a sporting director is really important you would have told me ‘go back to Germany and deal with that there!’
“I wanted a sporting director when I came here. Michael had a similar job before, but he got the job in the end because I don’t want to deal every day with players’ agents and anything that takes away from the really important stuff you have to do.”
Liverpool host Arsenal on Saturday evening, hoping to bounce back from the disappointing defeat against West Ham before the international break.
Related links:
- Jurgen Klopp takes aim at Nigel Farage and Boris Johnson
- Jurgen Klopp insists it makes ‘no sense’ how West Ham’s first goal wasn’t a foul on Alisson
- Gareth Southgate questions why Jurgen Klopp keeps ‘having a swing’ at him
