Des Kelly speaks out on Klopp row as Liverpool boss prepares for PL exit
Des Kelly has opened up about Jurgen Klopp‘s fiery outburst towards him as the Liverpool manager prepares for an emotional goodbye.
Klopp will say a tear-jerking farewell this Sunday when he leads the Reds for the last time against Wolves in front of the Anfield crowd. It marks the end of the German’s spectacular nine-year spell in charge, where he clinched the Premier League, FA Cup, and Champions League titles, while bringing us with hilarious and occasionally angry interviews.
Kelly, who was formerly the lead interviewer at BT Sport, now TNT Sports, knows all too well about coming up against a furious Klopp. He was famously confronted by the manager in a tense interview live on air, which he has now shed light on.
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Speaking to The Athletic, Kelly said via the Mirror: “There’s always a camera trained on him because he’s a big personality and he’s part of the show. It’s all part of the circus. He’s passionate about his side, he wants to energise them, he wants them to press and be on the front foot. He’s driving them on and he wants the crowd to join in.
“The opposition might not like it but Liverpool fans love it. There’s no way he’s an ogre or some sort of bully. He just lets himself off the leash from time to time.”
Klopp’s anger was directed at Kelly in November 2020 following a draw at Brighton, where the manager blamed BT Sport for Liverpool’s early kick-off – a hugely sensitive issue for him over the years. He cited their role in adding to the congested fixture list during the pandemic, which he linked to James Milner’s hamstring injury sustained in the match.
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Klopp exploded: “You picked the 12:30 kick-off, didn’t you?” before adding: “Playing 12:30 after Wednesday is really dangerous for the Premier League players. Why did you pick us against Crystal Palace if you care?”
The heated interview stretched on for eight minutes, well over the standard time, with Kelly admitting he was under pressure to wrap it up from his producer.
“It ended up being a perfectly rational conversation, a proper debate,” Kelly explained. “It went on for eight or nine minutes and the producer was in my ear trying to wrap me up two or three times.
“It was a discussion and if I cut it short it’ll be me backing off. Eight or nine minutes doesn’t sound a lot but for a post-match interview, which normally goes on for three minutes tops, it kept going with me ignoring the producer. We almost missed the kick-off of the Man City game at 3pm.”
