LONDON – Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said that he does not believe his new deal will be the deciding factor in whether star forwards Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane commit their long-term futures to the club.
Salah and Mane, along with fellow attacker Roberto Firmino and midfielder Naby Keita, have contracts that expire next year.
With Klopp now staying until 2026, there is a greater degree of security at the club, but the German is not convinced that will make a huge difference to individual players’ decisions.
“If it is a positive sign for the boys, great, but I don’t think this will be the one decisive thing for whatever decision they want to make,” he said according to AFP.
“It is their own life but we just wanted to guarantee that everyone who wants to be here knows what he can expect.”
Egypt international Salah, whose negotiations have dragged on for several months, admitted last week it was not certain he would remain at Anfield, stressing the decision was not just about the money.
But Klopp said he did not make judgments about players’ loyalty based on whether they wanted to go elsewhere.
“If a player tells you early enough he wants to go then you have to deal with it,” Klopp said.
“I don’t judge people if they are loyal or not if they say during a contract ‘I want to go somewhere else and see what the weather is like or how the grass is there’.
“That’s not the case. I think you see loyalty in other areas.”
Klopp takes his side to Newcastle for the early kick-off tomorrow, looking to put pressure on Premier League leaders Manchester City, who are playing later at Leeds, by opening up a two-point gap at the top.
With one foot in the Champions League final after a 2-0 win over Villarreal in the first leg of their semi-final and an FA Cup final against Chelsea next month, an unprecedented quadruple remains a possibility.
Klopp, whose side have already won the League Cup this season, said his new contract was the start of a new era at the club.
“We don’t think about changing the team in the next two or three years or whatever, but you have to prepare the little things so that you are ready for the future as well,” he said.
“That’s why I really think it’s a really good place to be or a good place to join, if not the perfect place.
“We cannot wait 10 years. We have to do it now. It’s no threat. This is only the start, to be honest. That’s the plan, that we really, really go for it.”
Salah wins FWA award for 2nd time
Liverpool forward Salah has been voted the Football Writers’ Association’s Footballer of the Year, with Chelsea striker Sam Kerr receiving the women’s award.
Egypt international Salah took 48 per cent of the vote, ahead of Manchester City playmaker Kevin De Bruyne and West Ham midfielder Declan Rice.
Salah has scored 30 goals for the Reds this season, 22 in the Premier League, as Klopp’s side chase further domestic and European success.
The 29-year-old wins the FWA award, which has been presented since 1948, for the second time having also been named the 2018 Footballer of the Year.
Liverpool and Manchester City players dominated the votes, with nine of Klopp’s squad receiving individual nominations and a total of six City players recognised.
The Women’s Footballer of the Year vote was open to the full FWA membership for the first time, with the award, which was introduced from 2018, having previously been decided by an expert panel.
Salah and Kerr, 28, are set to receive their awards at the Footballer of the Year dinner in London on May 5.
FWA chair Carrie Brown said: “Both Mo and Sam have been outstanding this season, breaking records for both club and country.
“As well as their performances on the pitch, they are leaders and standard bearers of excellence at their clubs and respective leagues.
“The fact they have won by such convincing margins underlines just how impressive they have been this season which has been recognised by our members.”
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