The Jurgen Klopp farewell tour veered off course this week when the outgoing Liverpool manager clashed with Mohamed Salah during Saturday's match at West Ham.
The Reds talisman was dropped for the must-win clash at the London Stadium, which ended 2-2. Unfortunately, said outcome effectively ends Liverpool's hopes of sending Klopp off with the Premier League title, capping a chastening fortnight during which they were also eliminated from the Europa League by Atalanta.
Tensions ran high on the touchline between Klopp and Salah before the Egyptian joined the action for the final minutes and Salah then stoked the flames post-match when he insisted there "would be fire" if he spoke on the incident, which had already been downplayed by his manager.
While Klopp's verbal joust with Salah took some by surprise, the German has clashed with plenty of players during his managerial career. Here, Mirror Football looks back at some of those moments...
Mohamed Salah
As alluded to above, it was Liverpool's talisman who clashed with Klopp most recently. A frosty exchange on the touchline after Klopp offered a handshake was followed by a feisty discussion before Darwin Nunez stepped into placate Salah.
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Klopp came out after the match and insisted that the issue had been quashed between the pair in the dressing room. When he was asked if he could disclose what was said, Klopp replied: “No. We spoke already in the dressing room, for me that’s done.”
Mario Balotelli
Mario Balotelli was quickly shipped out by Klopp (PA)There was never a dull moment when Balotelli was around at Anfield, but the striker was another who clashed with Klopp.
The former Manchester City star was already at the club when Klopp arrived but was promptly informed he would have no role to play. Balotelli's old agent, Mino Raiola, previously branded Klopp "a piece of s***" for how he treated his client.
“Klopp does not know me and I do not know him. I was back in Liverpool a month and a half and I spoke to him once,” Balotelli said previously of his Liverpool exit.
“He explained to me that I could stay there but I was not his first choice and he told me it was better if I went somewhere else. If I got games, did well, I could come back but I said goodbye and thank you, and that we wouldn’t be seeing each other again.”
Nuri Sahin
Klopp kicked Nuri Sahin out of a training session at Borussia DortmundKlopp garnered a reputation for being a fierce operator during his time at Borussia Dortmund, and he wasted no time in turfing Sahin out of training following an argument.
The midfielder, who is now the assistant coach at Dortmund, was given the boot by Klopp for rowing with another player. He revealed: “It was either 2009 or 2010, I was playing for Borussia Dortmund and the coach threw me out of training. He told me to leave because I had an argument with another player.
“I was young and I thought I knew everything. I was sure I was in the right, 100 per cent, but he told me to go, so I went.”
Lazar Markovic
Lazar Markovic struggled for game time under Klopp (Getty Images)Markovic was another player Klopp inherited who was not viewed as integral to his long-term plans.
The winger's gripe was that Liverpool and Klopp were demanding too high a transfer fee for his services, leaving him in limbo. He was loaned out plenty of times before joining Fulham permanently in 2019.
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Speaking a year earlier, Markovic said: “It’s [up to me] to show that I’m still the same player, to show the people at Liverpool that they can’t treat me that way. Yes, it’s okay to take it personally when you are not let go because they’re asking for an unrealistic transfer amount.”
Mamadou Sakho
Mamadou Sakho was sent home from Liverpool's tour of the United States by Klopp in 2016 (Daily Mirror)Once a key figure under Brendan Rodgers, the writing was on the wall for Sakho when Klopp sent him home early from the club's pre-season tour of the United States in 2016.
Klopp revealed that Sakho had shown up late to meetings and even missed the initial flight out to America while explaining his decision to axe the defender, who went on to join Crystal Palace.
“He missed the departure of the plane, he missed a session and then was late for a meal … I have to build a group here, I have to start anew, so I thought it maybe made sense that he flew home to Liverpool,” Klopp said.
Xherdan Shaqiri
Xherdan Shaqiri and Klopp clashed on the pitch back in 2018 (Pool via REUTERS)Shaqiri wasn't exactly farmed out by Klopp at Anfield but the pair did have a moment similar to the exchange between the Liverpool chief and Salah at the weekend.
Klopp charged on to the pitch to confront Shaqiri after a wasted free-kick in the aftermath of Liverpool's elimination from the League Cup in 2018. A heated debate ensued with Klopp explaining post-match: “I spoke about a free-kick – the last one. Mo was standing wide and a whole bunch of players were in one direction where we shot the ball.
“If he could have played in Mo on a one-on-one situation in the last minute of the game it would have been not too bad. It was only about the free-kick, nothing else.”
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