Mamadou Sakho has risked further inflaming his strained relationship with Jürgen Klopp after claiming that fans have been deceived about the truth behind his extended absence from the first-team squad.
Sakho has not featured for the club since he was suspended by Uefa in April for failing a drugs test. Although the ban was subsequently lifted by European football’s governing body, injury and disciplinary problems have kept the £19m France international out of the side since, allowing Joel Matip and Dejan Lovren to forge a promising partnership at the heart of the Liverpool defence.
Klopp hinted at the possibility of a rapprochement in midweek, suggesting that Sakho was not yet fully fit but is “closer to everything”. However, the German is unlikely to be impressed by a late-night tirade in which Sakho insisted he was ready to play and voiced frustration over his continued estrangement.
Writing on Snapchat at 3.05am on Saturday morning, Sakho said: “I accept my situation but I can’t accept the lie … The fans deserve to know the truth.
“Now it’s three weeks since I am fit to play games. I finish all my rehabilitation work. They don’t want me to play also with second team lol! Why, I don’t know.”
The outburst may prove a final nail in the coffin for Sakho, whose Anfield career has followed a chequered path since his arrival from Paris Saint-Germain in September 2013. Having struggled to command a regular place under Brendan Rodgers, Klopp’s predecessor as manager, the 26-year-old initially prospered following the new man’s arrival, finding form and favour until his doping ban.
Though the revelation that he had taken a fat-burning substance caused consternation at Anfield, not least because the player failed to consult medical staff in line with club rules, there was also a degree of sympathy for the defender, who was exonerated only after missing out on the Europa League and Euro 2016 finals.
Nonetheless, faced by the possibility of losing Sakho for an extended period, Klopp cut his cloth accordingly in the summer transfer market, signing the Estonia international Ragnar Klavan from Augsburg as well as bringing in the former Schalke defender Matip, who signed a pre-contract with Liverpool in February.
Sakho failed to make the most of his doping reprieve, falling foul of Klopp after reporting late for a series of team meetings during a pre-season tour to the United States. Sent home early from the trip for what Klopp termed a “lack of respect”, Sakho was subsequently made available for loan but turned down the chance to join Besiktas, Stoke City and West Bromwich Albion before the transfer deadline. Klopp has since warned him that there is no easy route back into the first team.
Nonetheless, the former Borussia Dortmund manager appeared to offer Sakho an olive branch earlier this week when he said: “He is closer to everything. He is still working, but it’s a big difference between match fitness, that’s all.
“It’s not about how the player feels, it’s about how I feel. It needs time, for sure. It makes more sense to really use the time, and that’s what we’re working on.”
Sakho, writing just hours before Liverpool’s league game against Hull at Anfield, added in his Snapchat posts: “Still working hard like Scouse Soldier! Still not talking cos I want speak on pitch. I will speak soon for the people who support me and don’t understand the situation.
“Still happy to live in my ‘Liverpool Country’ with my family, hope to have chance to play soon to give my best like I try to do always!”
It looks increasingly unlikely that the Frenchman will get that chance.
