OPINION
Liverpool Football Club have always been a huge draw for the top players in the world, with the famous Anfield atmosphere and historic success of the club motivating some of the very best to join the Reds.
However, the club’s failure to compete at the very top in the last decade or so had somewhat diminished the club’s standing in the eyes of many, with managers like Brendan Rodgers failing to attract the top talent the club had previously been able to.
Instead players were choosing to link up with their domestic rivals like Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea, with Liverpool seemingly falling behind such clubs.
That has all changed once again in recent seasons under the stewardship of Jurgen Klopp, who has managed to turn around the club’s fortunes and remind the very best players that Liverpool are a viable option for competing at the very top.
The purchase of players such as Mo Salah, Naby Keita and Alisson in the last two summers have reaffirmed Liverpool’s return to the top table of European football.
It is however Liverpool’s bargain signing of this past summer, the £13.5million capture of Xherdan Shaqiri, which has in fact illustrated Klopp’s magic best.
As reported by Swiss outlet Blick, the 26-year-old was being hunted by Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho, but did not even engage in talks with the Portuguese.
Instead, he instantly opted to link up with Klopp at Anfield, with the German mastermind’s early and persistent chase, along with his ‘human manner’ convincing him of the move.
The fact that Shaqiri snubbed a move to Old Trafford is a huge illustration of the work that Klopp has done in bringing Liverpool back to the top table of European football, and in allowing the club to bring in the biggest talents in the world game.
That in turn will breed success on the pitch for the Reds, who have the strongest squad in recent memory under Klopp this season, and have been tipped to be Manchester City’s closest challengers in the Premier League.
This is just one of the many ways in which Klopp has been able to transform the Reds in his time on Merseyside, and shows that Liverpool are now ready to become one of Europe’s top clubs once again.
