Liverpool have grown into one of the most successful clubs in European football since Jurgen Klopp’s appointment seven years ago and are now in a position where they do not fear losing star players.
Mohamed Salah penned a new contract last year while other key performers such as Alisson Becker, Virgil van Dijk, Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold are unlikely to depart against the club’s wishes.
Sadio Mane is perhaps the one exception to the rule – the Senegalese forward ended his six seasons on Merseyside last summer by joining Bayern Munich. Yet such has the Reds' success on the pitch been, Liverpool's key players are much more likely to stay at Anfield for the long run.
This has not always been the case and even in the early years under Klopp, key players for the Reds were willing to walk away from the club. Months before the manager’s arrival, Raheem Sterling departed Anfield for Manchester City. In subsequent seasons, Emre Can, Georginio Wijnaldum and Philippe Coutinho all left the Red half of the city for pastures new.
Klopp warned Brazilian playmaker Coutinho ahead of his move to Barcelona in January 2018: "I told him to stay here and they will end up building a statue in your honour. Go somewhere else, to Barcelona, to Bayern Munich, to Real Madrid, and you will be just another player. Here you can be something more."
Liverpool reached successive Champions League finals in the 18 months after the Brazilian’s exit, winning at the second attempt before lifting the Premier League title the following year. Coutinho had little impact at Barca, before being loaned to Bayern Munich and joining Aston Villa last year.
Have Your Say! What transfers do you think Liverpool need to make this summer? Tell us what you think here.
Six months after Coutinho’s exit, Emre Can – now at Borussia Dortmund – rejected the chance to renew his deal at Anfield, to join Juventus. "I had a lot of offers from very good teams," the German international told the Liverpool Echo the same summer after making the move.
"I decided to come to Juventus because I think the project here is very big. They have very big aims. I want to be part of the project here. I am really happy to be here. I know how Juventus play, I watched a lot of the games last season. One of my biggest idols was Zidane who played here too. My first manager when I started to play football was a huge Juventus fan.
"When I was six or seven he told me that one day I'd play for Juventus. Now I am here and it's a cool story.
"The club had good contact with my agent for many years. I just know how huge the club is and the mentality of the club - they want to win titles. That's my mentality too. I came here to win titles. I think the first target has to be to win Serie A and then comes the Champions League. That has to be our aim. I am here to help the team."
As with Coutinho’s move to Barcelona, Can’s Liverpool exit was with the intention of winning Europe’s ultimate prize and enjoying domestic dominance with his new club – but neither reality played out. Indeed, they missed out on Klopp’s team’s golden period of success.
Dutch international Wijnaldum did enjoy success at the Reds, but as with Can – left Anfield as a free agent 18 months ago before joining Paris Saint-Germain. He claimed he "didn't feel loved and appreciated" by fans as he departed Liverpool, with Jamie Carragher hitting back in response: "He wanted more money the club said no, that's football!"
Wijnaldum’s spell in the French capital was described as a 'nightmare'. Wijnaldum's exit from the Reds has not gone as planned and he even admitted last season that he was not "completely happy" in Paris following his transfer.
Wijnaldum struggled to adapt to PSG and a local media outlet even harshly labelled him as the 'Ligue 1 Flop of the Year' while separate reports claimed that the club's South American contingent – led by Lionel Messi – did not get along with Wijnaldum.
Wijnaldum subsequently joined Roma last summer on loan to temporarily end his unhappy stint in the French capital but a lack of fitness, exacerbated by unlucky injuries, has seen him limited to just 21 minutes of first-team football. As with Coutinho and Can before him, Wijnaldum must be wondering if he made a mistake in not heeding Klopp’s advice to stay put on Merseyside.
