Joel Matip has been confirmed to leave Liverpool when his contract expires this summer, after club officials overruled Jurgen Klopp’s vote.
Klopp and Matip will both leave Anfield at the end of the season, with the centre-back unfortunately ruled out of the final against Wolves with a long-term ACL injury.
While undergoing surgery to correct the problem, Klopp insisted Matip should be given a new contract, saying: “I’m pretty sure the club will show their class.”
But with number 32 about to move on, The Times‘ Paul Joyce has reported that while Klopp has been pushing for a new deal, those in Liverpool’s hierarchy have decided against it.
It was the same for Roberto Firmino and James Milner, who left to join Al-Ahli and Brighton respectively on free transfers last summer.
Klopp has been described as loyal to a fault in the past, explaining that, before his own moves to Saudi Arabia, “(Jordan) Henderson and Fabinho were not dropped; they forced out.”
Matip will leave at the age of 32. Firmino was 31 when he came out, Milner 37, Henderson 33 and Fabinho 29.
Dominik Szoboszlai, 23, Alexis Mac Allister, 25, and Ryan Gravenberch, 22, were brought in last year and Wataru Endo, 31, was out after Moises Caicedo, 22, and Romeo Lavia, 20, failed.
Liverpool will almost certainly take a similar approach to the summer transfer window, with plans to be led by new sporting director Richard Hughes in tandem with assistant David Woodfine and chief executive of football Michael Edwards.
Willian Pacho, 22, and Ousmane Diomande, 20, are the two centre-backs set to replace Matip, while Jarell Quansah, 21, has already been promoted from the academy.
Quansah’s rise, however, shows one of the main positives of Klopp’s faith in the squad already at his disposal, with the outgoing manager willing to rely on youth.
This will be emphasized to his successor, Arne Slot, but now the decisions about the contracts will be taken from the hands of the new head coach.
It’s certainly an interesting report considering Liverpool have Virgil van Dijk (32) and Mohamed Salah (31) entering the final year of their contracts this summer.
But it could be argued that, unlike Matip, Firmino, Milner, Henderson and Fabinho, there is still no evidence of a diminishing starting role for either player.
Put simply, while Klopp can be seen as a loyalist to a fault, it is this ability to connect with players that has made Liverpool the band of brothers that they are.
