‘Bobby, my God, I love that man’: Jurgen Klopp hails departing Roberto Firmino and James Milner for being part of ‘all good things’ during his reign as Liverpool boss… and pays tribute to Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Naby Keita
- Klopp tribute to ‘legends’ Milner, Firmino, Oxlade-Chamberlain and Keita
- The quartet will leave Liverpool when their contract expires next month
- The Liverpool manager insisted all four had made important contributions
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has paid tribute to the departing quartet of James Milner, Roberto Firmino, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Naby Keita.
All four will leave when their contracts expire next month and are guaranteed an emotional farewell at Anfield against Aston Villa.
They all leave as Champions League and Premier League winners and although Firmino and Milner, who arrived in the summer of 2015 a few months before Klopp replaced Brendan Rodgers, played a bigger role, the manager insisted all four have an important role to play. had contributed.
“We already talked to the boys about it earlier this week,” Klopp said.
“It’s super important for us and also a bit super emotional for a variety of reasons because we’re saying goodbye to, from my point of view, four Liverpool legends.
Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp praised Roberto Firmino’s important contribution
37-year-old James Milner will also leave the club when his contract expires in the summer
“Two of them were here when I arrived – Millie (Milner) and Bobby (Firmino) – and none of the good that has happened over the years would have happened without them.
“Bobby, my god, how I love that guy. It is 100 percent deserved.
“Millie played an incredible amount of games, I think I’m the manager he played the most games for in his career, and probably the same for Bobby.
‘My English isn’t good enough to really express my respect for them, but so are Ox (Oxlade-Chamberlain) and Naby for various reasons.
“Ox was unlucky in moments with serious injuries at absolutely the wrong time. I remember the (Champions League match of 2018) against Roma when he got badly injured and I had no idea how to solve that situation because he was so good and almost irreplaceable at the time.
“Everyone knows we spent a lot of money on Naby and there were a lot of expectations and because of injuries at the wrong times he couldn’t live up to them all, but look back at the football he was able to play in his good moments.” ‘
Milner has been strongly linked with a move to Brighton, but the futures of the other three are less clear, although they certainly won’t be short of offers.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was plagued with injuries after being ‘virtually irreplaceable’
Klopp added: “I wish them all the best and hope they find a place where they are as respected and needed as here and they find their happiness again because they’ve had a lot in recent years.”
“All four of them have won pretty much every accolade available and we love them, but it’s professional football and nothing is forever.
“There’s always a moment and it’s a good moment because it means closing a chapter and starting a new one, which is good for them as well as for us.”
“I will be eternally grateful to them, because without them nothing would have happened. They were super important in everything they did and that’s the farewell they deserve.’