Jurgen Klopp is one of Liverpool’s greatest-ever managers.
The German completely transformed the Reds after taking charge of the club in 2015, and he ended their long wait for a Premier League title.
Klopp won almost everything during his time at Anfield, and he was absolutely adored – not just by the fans but by his players as well.
However, something he once said to a player convinced him to leave Liverpool.
Fabinho says he left Liverpool because of Jurgen Klopp
Fabinho was one of Liverpool’s most important players in Klopp’s successful years.
The Brazilian, hailed as ‘outstanding‘ by Klopp, joined the club from Monaco, and although he had a slow start to life at Anfield, he became almost irreplaceable.
Fabinho played a big part in helping Liverpool win the Premier League and Champions League titles, but his final season at Anfield was not great.
Jamie Carragher said Fabinho had lost his legs at the time, and he was sold by Liverpool at the end of that campaign to Al-Ittihad.
Fabinho gesturing during a Liverpool game against Brentford
Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images
Now, the midfielder has come out and claimed that he never wanted to leave the Reds. He only did so because of what Jurgen Klopp said to him.
He told The Guardian: “He called me and asked me what I wanted. I said that I’d heard the offer and liked it, but that I wanted to hear from him what he thought.
“He said that if there are any players who want to leave, he won’t hold them back. It was a speech that kind of opened the door for me to leave. That conversation with the coach could have kept me at the club but he left it open and I didn’t like it very much.
“I always like to do a prayer before I make my decisions. Liverpool is a club I love, but the things that happened at the time steered my life towards Arabia. I left in peace and happy with my decision.”
Were Liverpool right to sell Fabinho?
Nobody can dispute Fabinho’s contributions to Liverpool’s success under Klopp.
The Brazil international was phenomenal in the middle of the park for the Reds, and an argument can be made that they wouldn’t have been as good without him.
However, when Liverpool received an offer from Saudi Arabia for Fabinho, he was nearing 30, and his performances had begun to decline.
£40 million was too good an offer to turn down, so we think Liverpool were right to let him go, even though he wanted to stay at the club.