Jurgen Klopp has made it clear that he would never include a player like Sergio Ramos in his team, criticising the “brutal” way the former Spain international injured Mohamed Salah during the Champions League final six years ago.
In the first half of the showpiece match against Real Madrid in Kyiv in May 2018, Salah was forced to leave the field with a shoulder injury after a rough challenge from Ramos.
The Liverpool forward, who had netted an impressive 44 goals that season, exited the match in tears, and the injury subsequently hindered his participation in the World Cup with Egypt the following month.
Without Salah, the Reds suffered a 3-1 defeat in the final, compounded by two costly mistakes from goalkeeper Loris Karius, who never played for the club again.
In a recent podcast interview with former Real Madrid and Germany midfielder Toni Kroos, Klopp questioned Ramos’s mentality.
He claimed that the former Spain international holds the record for the most cards received in La Liga, the Champions League, the Spanish national team, and Real Madrid.
“Is Mr Sergio Ramos really a good guy?” said Klopp on the Einfach mal Lupen podcast hosted by Kroos.
“He’s not my favourite player.
“The action was brutal.
“Of course, he can’t know that it’s going to injure his (Salah’s) shoulder, but we all know that he accepted it very happily.
“I could never understand that mentality, I never had players like that and, when I did, I made sure they left.”
Kroos then described Ramos as “very good team-mate” only for Klopp to respond: “He may not be my favourite player, but it doesn’t matter.
“I always thought that my centre-backs were good enough not to be involved in actions like that.”
Both Salah and Klopp found redemption the following year by lifting the Champions League trophy in Madrid, defeating Tottenham 2-0 in the final.
Meanwhile, Sergio Ramos, now 38, is currently without a club after being released by his hometown team, Sevilla last summer.
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