Jurgen Klopp has insisted he is NOT involved in contract talks with his players... and likes it that way.
The Liverpool manager has appeared to show some minor irritation in recent weeks at being constantly asked about negotiations with Mo Salah over a new deal.
Klopp clearly wants the Egyptian star to stay long term at Anfield, but he has no direct influence over negotiations, which have dragged on virtually all year.
And his other two members of Liverpool fabled front three, Sadio Mane are also - like Salah - involved in talks over extending contracts which expire in the summer of 2023.
Klopp has spoken passionately about the trio, suggesting they can all play at the very top level well into their 30s, and making it clear he wants Salah to do that with Liverpool.
But when asked about the role a director of football plays at Anfield, he explained it allows him to maintain an important distance from his players when it comes to money talk.
“I speak to players constantly but it is not the right thing for a manager to speak to players about contracts,” he said.
"You need someone in between. For the player that is the agent, for the club it is the sporting director.
“When a player is very important for you and you say 'you can have this or that' and he doesn’t want to hear it and says 'I think I'm worth more than that!’...this conversation shouldn't happen with the person who is responsible for football things.”
Klopp’s current sporting director at Anfield, Michael Edwards, is leaving at the end of the season. His deputy, Julian Ward, will assume the role next summer.
And Klopp believes it is a crucial role which takes the pressure off the manager.
"If I would have come here 10 years ago and told you a sporting director is really important you would have told me 'go back to Germany and deal with that there!' he said.
"I wanted a sporting director when I came here. Michael had a similar job before, but he got the job in the end because I don't want to deal every day with players' agents and anything that takes away from the really important stuff you have to do.”
The Reds boss has plenty to think about this weekend, with six players missing, and both skipper Jordan Henderson and defender Andy Robertson still doubts for the visit of Arsenal.
