Klopp ‘demands’ next club make two signings, axe five ‘doomed’ players to accept job
According to reports, Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp is in line to replace Xavi at FC Barcelona with the two managers set to be on the move in the summer.
Klopp has announced that he will leave Liverpool at the end of this season with him running out of steam in his ninth season in charge of the Premier League giants.
Upon making his announcement, Klopp indicated that he may never return to management.
“If you ask me, ‘Will you ever work as a manager again?’ I would say now no,” Klopp told reporters.
“But I don’t know obviously how that will feel because I never had the situation. What I know definitely – I will never, ever manage a different club in England than Liverpool, 100 per cent. That’s not possible.”
Despite this, media outlets around Europe are opting to link the departing Liverpool manager with various jobs and he is understood to be on Barcelona’s radar.
Klopp has reportedly been identified as the top candidate to replace Xavi at Barcelona and it’s been confirmed that the club legend will leave the La Liga giants in the summer.
After winning La Liga last season, Barcelona are currently third in the table and cut adrift from title chasers Girona and Real Madrid.
MAILBOX: Xabi Alonso would be doomed as next Liverpool manager. And who really forced out Klopp…
Following his side’s 5-3 loss to Villarreal on Saturday, Xavi told reporters: “I will leave Barcelona in June. We have reached a point of no return. It’s time for change. As a Culé, I think that it’s time to leave. I spoke with the board and the club today. I will leave on the 30th of June”.
He added: “Everything will be calmer now, we can compete for the Champions League… at least with this decision you [the press] won’t kill me anymore. The club will improve with this decision.”
A report from Spanish outlet Nacional claims Joan Laporta and Deco are ‘convinced’ that Klopp would be the right appointment and the Liverpool boss is ‘seduced by the idea of landing at the Nou Camp’.
But if he is to accept the job, Klopp is said to have made a ‘series of demands’ to Barcelona chiefs and ‘he has indicated to five players that he does not want them to be under his command next season’.
The ‘doomed’ players at risk are reportedly Oriol Romeu, Sergi Roberto, Raphinha, Joao Felix and Marcos Alonso.
Klopp reportedly does not feel that these players ‘have the necessary level to be part of the squad’. Regarding Felix specifically, the Liverpool boss ‘does not like players as problematic’ as the former Chelsea man.
It’s also claimed that the German manager has ‘requested’ two signings, with Girona’s Savio Moreira and Athletic Bilbao’s Nico Williams eyed in deals worth around €100m combined.
This report should *obviously* be taken with a rather large pinch of salt as Klopp is far more likely to have a year or two out of the game than join Barcelona in the summer. Instead, the Spanish giants could target Arsenal’s Mikel Arteta, who is ‘appreciated’ by Deco.
