Liverpool legend Jurgen Klopp has been slammed by former player Jordon Ibe for supposedly not “honoring” a conversation that the pair had early on in the German’s tenure at Anfield.
Ibe was signed from Wycombe Wanderers in 2012 when Brendan Rodgers was in charge and played 32 times at senior level for Liverpool in total, assisting Philippe Coutinho on his first start. He scored just two goals, against Rubin Kazan in the Europa League and West Brom in the Premier League.
Now 29, Ibe joined Bournemouth in 2016 for a fee of around $20 million (£16 million). He has spent time in the National League since 2023 and now plays for the semi-professional side Hungerford Town.
“It wasn’t the best for me,” Ibe told The Sports Agents when talking about his spell at Liverpool under Klopp. “I just signed a new four-year contract. Everything came at once. Raheem [Sterling] left, I just signed a new contract with the club, and then Brendan’s gone.
“Klopp came in, and obviously he’s going to want to have his own youth force, and his own players and whatnot. And we had a conversation, and it was good at first, but I don’t really think he honored it.
“And I’ll have a book that’s going to be coming out, because it’s not going to be one of those things where I sugarcoat stuff. He was really happy with how I was playing, because I was either starting a game or, if I’m not starting, I was the first sub.
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“And then that changed, because they signed a new player, and it wasn’t the same story then. The response was, “I think it’s best you leave”.
“It hurt a bit. I didn’t even get to say bye to anyone, and that’s nothing to do with any of the Liverpool players. Because I love all the Liverpool players that were there then.”
The summer of 2016 was Klopp’s first in charge. He signed Sadio Mane and went on to win the Premier League and the Champions League with the Reds before being replaced by Arne Slot last summer.
Liverpool.com says: Difficult decisions have to be made in soccer and Klopp clearly made enough right ones to win major trophies and transform the Reds. At times, that means players have to be left behind and upgrades found. Ibe’s list of clubs since he left Liverpool would suggest that Klopp was correct in his judgment.
