Jurgen Klopp’s debut Liverpool XI has no players who are still with the club, showing the revolution he has brought about since his arrival.
Adam Lallana and Nathaniel Clyne have moved on to other clubs but remain capable Premier League players.
Philippe Coutinho’s move to Barcelona did not go as planned, and he is now on loan at Al-Duhail from Aston Villa.
Jurgen Klopp took over as Liverpool’s manager in October 2015, succeeding Brendan Rodgers. The former Borussia Dortmund manager has had an incredible stint that has beyond the hopes of even the most enthusiastic Liverpool fans, but the 56-year-old has decided that the 2023/24 season will be his last in command of the club.
The news that Klopp would be departing the Merseyside club stunned the football world, as the man who won the Premier League, FA Cup, League Cup, and Champions League with the club is poised to retire. He is remembered as one of the best managers in Premier League history, having converted the Reds from a mid-table team to a perennial title contender.
Comparing Klopp’s first starting XI to the current Liverpool squad demonstrates how much the club’s fortunes have altered over his tenure. Liverpool drew 0-0 with Tottenham that day, but his high-energy, high-pressing approach was evident to all. Surprisingly, none of the 18 players are still at Anfield, illustrating the metamorphosis the German manager has engineered since his arrival.
GK: Simon Mignolet.
Current club: Club Brugge.
Mignolet was the club’s first-choice custodian when he joined in 2013 and stayed so for the better part of four seasons. However, repeated high-profile and important errors caused Klopp to lose faith in the Belgian, who eventually moved Club Brugge in 2019 after losing his place to Loris Karius and later Alisson Becker.
The 37-year-old is still with Brugge and has played over 200 appearances for the club. Following his move to the club six years ago, the Belgian has helped his team win four league titles and still has plenty of time to add to that total.
RB: Nathaniel Clyne.
Crystal Palace is the current club
Clyne is another player who began as a regular under Klopp and was probably unlucky not to play more for England. However, a series of injuries, along with the rise of Trent Alexander-Arnold, saw the Englishman fall out of favour. In 2020, he joined Palace, where he suffered similar injury issues until establishing himself as the starting right-back.
His absence from the Liverpool lineup ushered in the best version of the Reds under Klopp, as Alexander-Arnold’s attacking style contrasted sharply with the ex-Southampton man’s more defensive attitude. This shift in playing style assured Liverpool’s future success, while Clyne remains a very talented player at a well-established Premier League club.
CB: Martin Skrtel.
Current club: retired.
Despite a great career at Liverpool, Klopp sold Skrtel to Fenerbahce in the summer of 2016, after spending much of the previous season on the bench. He spent three seasons in Turkey before joining Atlanta, where he lasted only three weeks.
Skrtel returned to Slovakia to play for semi-professional team FK Hajskala Ráztočno. In 2022, the defender ended his career. Under Rodgers, he had the finest stint of his Liverpool career, scoring seven goals as the club came close to winning the Premier League title in 2013/14.
CB: Mamadou Sakho.
Current club: N/A.
Sakho joined Liverpool from PSG with high expectations. And, while his header against Borussia Dortmund in the Europa League quarter-finals will be remembered, his tenure at Liverpool was primarily disappointing. The Frenchman was sold to Crystal Palace in 2017, before being transferred to Montpellier in 2021.
Sakho was released from the French club in October 2023 following a confrontation with his management. He is 35 years old and now without a club after being released by Georgian side FC Torpedo Kutaisi. More than a decade after arriving in England, it’s easy to say that the former PSG defender never lived up to expectations.
LB: Alberto Moreno.
Current club: Como.
Moreno was terrific offensively at times but was frequently a liability defensively. In 2019, Klopp decided it was enough and sold the Spaniard to Villarreal. Andy Robertson’s rise to become one of the top left-backs in the world made the German’s choice to let Moreno leave easier.
The next year, Moreno had a cruciate ligament injury that sidelined him for more than six months. But in 2021, he was a member of the Villarreal team that won the Europa League, scoring in the final shootout against Manchester United. The Spaniard now plays for Como under Cesc Fabregas.
CM: Emre Can.
Current club: Borussia Dortmund.
Klopp adored Can, despite the fact that the German was notoriously inconsistent at best. However, the midfielder elected to run out his contract and join Juventus on a free transfer in 2018. After after two lacklustre seasons in Italy, Can joined Borussia Dortmund, where he still plays today.
The 31-year-old worked well in central midfield alongside Jude Bellingham before the Englishman transferred to Real Madrid in 2023. After Marco Reus opted to stand down as club captain in 2023, Can was given the honour of leading the legendary team in black and yellow onto the pitch each week, and he led them to a Champions League final in 2024.
Lucas Leiva
Current club: Retired
The Brazilian appeared in around 350 Reds games, establishing himself as a cult icon. Initially a defensive midfielder, Klopp trusted Lucas to play a crucial role at centre-back on occasion. He joined Lazio in 2017 and spent five seasons as a first-team regular.
Lucas returned to previous club Gremio in June 2022 and played 18 games before declaring his retirement in March 2023. Despite his successful club career, Lucas was only capped 24 times for Brazil. Many Liverpool fans will claim he deserved more.
CAM: Adam Lallana.
Current club: retired.
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