Jurgen Klopp has hastened to remind his recently outspoken goalkeeper about the money he’s on.
Simon Mignolet hit the headlines this week by describing Liverpool’s decision to loan Loris Karius to Besiktas for two years as “bizarre.”
Mignolet had also been linked with a move away from Anfield in the summer but he will stay as cover for the Reds’ new No. 1, Alisson Becker.
It sounded like Mignolet was not exactly thrilled to learn that Karius would be allowed to move elsewhere in pursuit of more playing time, rather than him.
But Klopp has hit back at the Belgian stopper by suggesting that any problems he might have should have been addressed in private instead of in an interview with the press.
“He will not be leaving. I would say discussing your individual problems in public doesn’t make too much sense. It is better to speak to each other – I’m a big believer in that,” Klopp said of Mignolet’s comments, which he only found out about via Matt McCann, the club’s head of press.
“If he was happy to be a No. 2, then I wouldn’t really know him. He’s a top professional and a top goalkeeper. Of course he’s not happy to be a No. 2.
“At the end, there are worse things in the world than being No. 2 here, for pretty good pay by the way.
“In the first moment, whether you understand decisions or not, it is always better to talk to me directly about it than go to the newspapers. It makes not too much sense. If you want to say something to me, say it directly – that helps.”
Mignolet is said to take home a weekly wage of roughly £60,000, which is not too shabby for sitting on the bench every week. But to suggest that Mignolet should be in some way content because he is on a decent wedge undermines a player who was Sunderland’s long-time No.1 and who was Liverpool’s primary starter for three of the last four seasons.
