After the clash between his former protégés at the Africa Cup of Nations, Jürgen Klopp suddenly became a topic of discussion. In an obviously completely false context.
Mo Salah (33) and Sadio Mané (33) celebrated their greatest successes together in Liverpool FC jerseys: Champions League winners and World Cup winners in 2019, followed a year later by the Reds’ long-awaited first English championship in 30 years. Their coach at the time: Jürgen Klopp (58), currently Head of Global Soccer at Red Bull, who shaped an era at LFC from 2015 to 2024.
It goes without saying that such connections always play a role in encounters of all kinds. This was certainly the case in Wednesday’s Africa Cup of Nations semi-final, when Salah and Mané once again faced each other as rivals with their national teams. Mané emerged as the hero of the evening: the Munich player (2022/23), who has been under contract with Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia for two and a half years, scored the winning goal to give Senegal a 1-0 victory over Egypt and Salah in Sunday’s final against hosts Morocco.
At the subsequent press conference, Mané then spoke as a worthy victor about the defeated Salah: “He is one of the best in the world, who always gives everything for the team. But defeats are part of football.” And after a question from a journalist, Klopp suddenly became the topic of discussion: “He’s a great coach,” Mané explained, “still one of the best in the world. I will always have great respect for this man and what he has done for me.” The match winner said he would therefore “not hold it against” his former coach that Klopp would have preferred to see Salah win.
Alleged statement is obviously completely unfounded
The catch with this story: Klopp’s alleged statement, reported by journalists, that he wanted Salah to reach the final more than him is obviously completely unfounded. “How could I have made such a statement? It’s completely baseless – and then a former player of mine has to respond to it. That’s crazy.“
He would have been equally happy for both of his former protégés to win before the game. ”I’m happy for Sadlo that he’s in the final, just as I would have been happy for Mo. And now, of course, I would be happy for him to bring home the trophy on Sunday.”
