Benteke: Klopp ignores me
Liverpool’s Christian Benteke appears to have accelerated his departure from the club by hitting out at manager Jurgen Klopp for ‘ignoring’ him.
|||London - Liverpool striker Christian Benteke appears to have accelerated his departure from the club by hitting out at manager Jurgen Klopp for ‘ignoring’ him.
Benteke has made just five starts in 21 matches since the turn of the year as Klopp has preferred Divock Origi and the fit-again Daniel Sturridge.
‘Some team-mates have said that I was lucky with the arrival of Klopp, because I certainly would play,’ he told Belgian magazine Sport/Voetbal. ‘When your coach says he wanted to take you to Dortmund and a little later you sit at the same club and he ignores you, it is hard to understand.’
At the end of Sunday’s defeat at Southampton Klopp was seen in animated discussions on the pitch with the £32.5million striker who missed a great chance to give Liverpool a 3-1 lead.
Match of the Day pundit Alan Shearer criticised Klopp for the public telling-off, saying: ‘I wouldn’t take too kindly if I was a player and he came on to the pitch in front of 32,000 and let his feelings be known.
‘No problem if he wants to give him a telling-off, or whatever it is, but do it in the dressing room, in the four walls in front of the players, not in front of all the fans.’
The Belgium international, who was signed last summer by Brendan Rodgers, has scored eight goals in 35 appearances, with his only goal in 2016 coming via a penalty.
He admitted he would not have joined Liverpool if he thought his playing time would be so limited. He said: ‘I was obviously happy (with the move to Liverpool).
‘I thought that finally I could find stability, settle for a duration at a big club. I knew I could face difficult months, but in the long run it would work.’
‘I never would have signed if I had not been the priority of the coach.’
But Benteke rejected accusations that he cannot fit in with Klopp’s intensive, high-pressing tactics.
‘I find it bizarre, I do not understand why people say that,’ he added. ‘I can play pressing and moving a lot. It is not that we play in the Barcelona style.
‘In January I didn’t want to leave and it’s still my desire to succeed at Liverpool. We’ll see at the end of the season.’
West Ham’s interest in Benteke has been confirmed by co-chairman David Sullivan, although he admits the player’s £120,000-a-week salary would be a problem.
Daily Mail