Former Liverpool midfielder Naby Keïta has revealed he had tears in his eyes when he found out about Jürgen Klopp’s imminent exit. Keita was signed by Klopp from RB Leipzig for around $65m (€60m/£51m) back in 2018.
Across his five years at the club, The 28-year-old Guinea international made 129 appearances for the club, scoring 11 goals and adding a further six assists. His time at Anfield was plagued by injuries and although he didn’t make the desired impact for the Reds, it didn’t stop him forming a strong bond with Klopp during their time working together.
“When I heard the news, I had tears in my eyes. I was like his son in Liverpool and I consider him my dad,” Keïta said.
Keïta has since parted ways with Liverpool, during the mass overhaul of the midfield last summer. Long-term servants James Milner, Alex Oxlade-Chamerlain, Jordan Henderson, and Fabinho also made way with Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szobozslai, Ryan Gravenberch, and Wataru Endō replacing them.
The player would secure a free transfer back to Germany with Werder Bremen, where he has only started one game after being sidelined through several setbacks ranging from illness to muscle injuries. Bremen currently sits in ninth place within the top flight of German football, just two points behind Roberto Firmino’s former club TSG 1899 Hoffenheim in eighth.
Speaking at the time of the midfielder’s exit from Liverpool, Klopp issued a message to Keïta as he embarked on his next challenge within football. “Naby is an exceptional footballer, what a player he is. Maybe one or two injuries too many just hindered him from getting really through,” he said to the official Liverpool website.
“But if you go through – and I would really recommend that – if you go through our really big games of Liverpool FC you might be surprised how often Naby was in the starting line-up and how often he played incredibly well.
“It was a bit a shame, when it was really going well then a little injury here, a little muscle thing there. That was not too cool and that is probably what people might remember as well, but in his moment he is world-class, without a shadow of a doubt.
“And I wish him the best of luck because he as well won absolutely everything here at Liverpool, which not a lot of people can say.”
