Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp sees no reason why Mohamed Salah wants to leave the Premier League champion, but says he will not keep the Egyptian striker at the club against his will, but does not think the winger intends to leave.
Salah recently said he admires Real Madrid and Barcelona, fueling rumors in the British media that he was looking to leave. “I think the only reason to leave Liverpool at the moment is the weather. What other reason could there be? ”Klopp told a news conference.
“This is one of the biggest clubs in the world, we pay good money … we have a great stadium with an exceptional crowd. We are not the highest paying club in the world, but we pay good money ”.
“You can't force people to stay, but that's it. We make changes and bring in players and if a player wants to leave then we can't, we probably won't keep him; it's just that I wouldn't understand why anyone would want to leave, come on, ”Klopp stated.
Salah was a substitute in the 0-7 win against Crystal Palace, but when he came in he scored a double. On the last day of the Champions League, against Midtjylland, he became the top scorer in Liverpool's history in the Champions League.
Klopp said Salah's comments about Barcelona and Real Madrid do not indicate that he wants to leave Liverpool. “If you ask any player in the world who is not playing for Barcelona or Madrid if he imagines playing there one day and he answers: 'No, Spanish football is not for me', why would they say that? Mo is a very important player for me, obviously, but this story is not.
Liverpool leads the table with 31 points from 14 games, 3 more than Leicester, 2nd and this Saturday, on Boxing Day, they drew (2-2) against Manchester United, 3rd to 4 of the 'reds'.