“He took care of me” – Liverpool flop reveals words of encouragement from Jurgen Klopp

Liverpool flop Naby Keita has revealed how manager Jurgen Klopp offered him words of encouragement throughout his injury hit spell at Anfield.

The midfielder has been speaking to SportBILD after joining Werder Bremen on a free transfer earlier this month, with his contract at Liverpool set to expire.

The 28-year-old has elected to bring an end to his time at Liverpool after that point, having struggled to be the star that many had hoped he would be.

He joined the Reds in a €60m deal from RB Leipzig in 2018 but a series of injuries meant he managed just 129 appearances in all competitions for the club.

The Guinean endured a series of muscle injuries, ankle injuries, knee problems and even suffered spells of angina and Coronavirus during his time on Merseyside, meaning he could never seemingly get going under Klopp and be a serious part of Liverpool’s success in recent years.

It means there is plenty of frustration when discussing the player’s spell at the club, but it seems behind the scenes there was nothing but encouragement.

“He (Klopp) is a very good coach and a really good person,” he said.

“Whenever I was injured, he took care of me. He kept telling me, “You are strong, never give up!” That helped me.

“Even though things didn’t go so well for me in Liverpool because of my injuries, I’m very grateful to him.”