Jurgen Klopp ended my Liverpool dream – ‘fact takes stairs and lies take the elevator’

Mamadou Sakho was a key member of the Liverpool squad which narrowly missed out on the Premier League title in 2013/14 but was later bombed out by Jurgen Klopp

Mamadou Sakho has addressed the circumstances that led to Jurgen Klopp exiling him from Liverpool, but he insists he harbours no ill feelings towards his former manager.

The former French international was signed by Brendan Rodgers in 2013 for £18million and played a key role in Liverpool’s unexpected title challenge that season that saw the Reds finish runners-up to Manchester City.

Despite being plagued by injuries which kept him sidelined for extended periods, Sakho remained a crucial part of the squad when fit. Under Klopp, who took over from Rodgers in October 2015, the now 35-year-old put in some standout performances.

Sakho had just signed a new long-term contract a month before Klopp’s arrival, and his future at Liverpool seemed secure until the following summer. During Liverpool’s pre-season tour of the United States, Sakho was abruptly sent home by Klopp after a huge fallout.

It later emerged that Klopp’s decision was due to Sakho being late for the team’s flight, a team meal, and a treatment session while recovering from an injury. The former PSG captain was relegated to train with the Under-23s and never played for Liverpool again.

Sakho has broken his silence on his turbulent departure from Liverpool, offering a candid glimpse into his life during and after his spell under Klopp at Anfield, reports the Mirror. He mused on their relationship in an exclusive interview with the Liverpool Echo. “Good relationship because I’m not a negative man,” he said.

“I always respect. I like his type of football. But football is football. So a few moments, you need to make some decisions and that’s it. It’s football. And I think you can see many examples.”

Discussing the unpredictable nature of the sport, he reflected, “Sometimes the fans, they don’t understand why this player leaves when this player is here. Also, sometimes you have some players where they ask, ‘Why are they here?’

“But as I said, it’s football. It’s not my point. It’s just football. Sometimes few things happen inside. I cannot talk about it, but it’s like this. It’s football.”

Explaining that seemingly trivial incidents that can snowball into significant outcomes, Sakho added: “Small things are always good to take as an excuse. But the reality wasn’t this.

“But it’s fine, you know? But seriously, because a player is late to eat, the time’s 7.15 and he comes at 7.18, now he leaves the club? Come on. What I wrote (on Snapchat) was the truth. But the truth always takes the stairs and the lie takes the elevator.”

The footballer revealed: “You have football that people see, and you have few things inside but they cannot talk about it. So I always keep it for me as a man and that’s it.

“I never talk and I would not speak for the moment because it’s not important. I really enjoy my time in Liverpool.”

Sakho added that he would eventually open up about his experiences, but only when the time is right. “Yeah, it was a really great moment for me in my career. And that’s it.

“I told you, I’m a positive man. So I don’t like to speak about the inside of football, you know? I will speak about it one day, of course. Of course, one day I will speak.”

He teased that the full story would be revealed in a future documentary about his life and career. “But not now, it is not the right moment. When I do my documentary of my career and of my life, all the truth will go out in that moment, just for fun.”

Sakho has since moved on to play for Torpedo Kutaisi in Georgia and has also ventured into the property market, launching a luxury real estate firm in Dubai.