Didi Hamann has never been the sympathetic sort.
Several members of Jurgen Klopp’s current crop of players have discovered in the past year that the Liverpool legend doesn’t often feel sympathy.
Both Emre Can and Dejan Lovren found themselves being torn apart by the former Reds midfielder and now Loris Karius has fallen victim to Hamann’s harshness.
After Karius’ horror show in Saturday’s Champions League final, Hamann didn’t appreciate the sight of the Liverpool goalkeeper crying and begging supporters for forgiveness.
“My sympathy with Karius is limited,” Hamann told Sports Bild.
“We don’t have to discuss that he decided the final with his two mistakes.
“Something like that can always happen to a professional footballer. But what I didn’t like was his behaviour afterwards.
“To publicly show his suffering after the final whistle was just as unnecessary as his tearful asking for forgiveness from the Reds fans.”
Hamann, who won the Champions League with the Merseyside club in 2005, has also insisted that Liverpool supporters will never hold a mistake against a player but suggested that Karius might struggle to earn the fans’ forgiveness due to his flashy lifestyle.
The German shot-stopper has been criticised for behaving like Real Madrid superstar Cristiano Ronaldo off the pitch but failing to back up his own opinion of himself between the sticks.
“Liverpool fans forgive their stars just as well as any other, the anthem ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ is part of life at the club,” Hamann continued..
“With one exception: when your ego doesn’t match your performance.
“Karius drives through Liverpool with the personalised number plates ‘LK1’ and makes waves in the city whenever he steps out.
“Having airs like that is something Cristiano Ronaldo, alias CR7, can pull off in Madrid, because he has won the Champions League five times.
“Someone like Karius has not achieved anything yet in his career and should be happy to have been given the chance by Klopp at a world-class club.”
