Jurgen Klopp has paid tribute to another departing member of the squad with Dejan Lovren signing for Russian club Zenit St Petersburg a permanent deal.
While the Croatian has often been a figure of criticism among sections of the Liverpool fanbase, it is clear within the walls of Melwood, there would not be many more respected members of the playing squad.
As is his way, the LMA manager of the year was effusive in his praise of the 31 year-old as the Official website reported.
“Another Liverpool legend who leaves the club, because he was absolutely a very, very important part of this team from the first day since I was in.
“I remember when we played with Dortmund against Liverpool in the pre-season friendly and Dejan scored with a header with incredible power.
“That was the image I had in my mind when I came here and I thought about the defenders we had at the time.
“He played super games and scored one of the most important goals of our history in the 4-3 against Borussia Dortmund; a really wonderful moment to share.
One game that Lovren would like to erase from his 185 appearances for the Reds was when he was hooked against Tottenham in 2017 after just 30 minutes.
Klopp recalled that moment, but says his response was the measure of the individual.
“Yes, I think he will not like the Tottenham game when I took him off in the first half, but it is part of football and part of development – and he always came back.
“When he was fit, he was very, very, very often in the team.
He is a model athlete, has everything you need and now he goes to Russia, but he can come back always – he will be always welcome because he is a really nice guy.”
“Yesterday we said, ‘Who is now the best friend of Mo?’ because they were really real, real bezzies. They were really close and that’s the thing, we will miss him.
The Egyptian superstar filmed a touching tribute for Lovren in which he said:
“I don’t know how to say, my friend. You don’t know my feeling right now. We’re really going to miss you a lot, especially me.
“You’ve been an unbelievable player and a great friend for me. We’re going to miss you a lot. I miss you a lot, I love you so much. You’ve been fantastic outside the field and inside the field.
“So, thank you for everything you did for the club, thank you for everything you did for me. I wish you all the best in the future and I wish you to have a great career as well, enjoying the new club with your family.
“Thank you very much and see you soon.”
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