Loris Karius has lifted the lid on a pep talk he received from Jurgen Klopp as he departed Liverpool this summer for what looks like the final time.
Although the goalkeeper, who had a two-year loan spell with Turkish club Besiktas cut short early in May over a pay dispute, has been sent out on loan again - this time to Union Berlin back in his German homeland - with less than a year now remaining on his Reds contract he is not expected to play for the Reds again.
Snapped up for £4.75million from Mainz in 2016, the club where Klopp spent 11 years as a player and seven years as a coach, Karius made 49 appearances for Liverpool with his final game coming in the 2018 Champions League final when his double blunder (later attributed to concussion by his manager) cost his side two goals in a 3-1 defeat to Real Madrid in Kiev.
And after an ultimately fractious time in Istanbul, the 27-year-old has revealed that his boss offered his some words of affection before he departed Merseyside this time around.
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The Mirror quote Karius as saying: “It was always fair and honest. He always tells you what the situation is like.
“We always had a good relationship and never had a problem. His successes speak for themselves.
“He is currently one of the best coaches of the world.
“He said it (the move to Union) is a good step that I have the chance to distinguish myself here and that I can show everyone that I'm a really good goalkeeper.”
