Trust Klopp: 6 big players that left Liverpool since 2016 and how they fared tell part of the story

Phillippe Coutinho

• Many feared that Liverpool would not be able to recreate Coutinho's creativity in attack when he was sold to Barcelona in 2018.
• Instead, Jurgen Klopp used the £142m from the sale to buy Virgil van Dijk and Alisson Becker and turned the Reds into the best side in the world.
• While Coutinho has managed to win some big trophies thanks to his loan move to Bayern Munich last summer, the Brazilian has become a bit-part player since leaving Liverpool.

Mamadou Sakho

• Klopp was not afraid to let Sakho go despite him being one of the better centre-backs at Liverpool at the time.
• Amongst other training mishaps, Saksho's late arrival for a plane in pre-season meant Klopp had enough of the Frenchman - shipping him off to Crystal Palace for a cool £25.3m in 2017.
• On the whole, Sakho has played decently for the midtable side, but he's only made 4 appearances so far this term.

Emre Can

• Emre Can blossomed into a really solid box-to-box midfielder under Jurgen Klopp after coming through in Brendan Rodgers' final season at Liverpool.
• The German midfielder's incredibly high salary demands forced the club to let him go for free rather than give in.
• Can moved to Juventus in 2018 but the move did not quite work, leading to a return to Germany with Borussia Dortmund last season.

Christian Benteke

• Benteke brought high expectations with him when he came to Liverpool in 2015 but with Rodgers getting the sack only 2 months after his arrival, the Belgian never quite settled in.
• Yet, it was a big call from Klopp to sell the £32m man only a season after he arrived.
• While it looked obvious why Benteke wouldn't fit in at the Anfield side, the move has been more than justified as the striker has only scored 26 times in 127 games for Crystal Palace.

Danny Ings

• An extremely unfortunate case, Ings suffered 2 horrific season-ending knee injuries consecutively - the first coming in the very week that Klopp joined.
• By the time the Englishman got fit, Liverpool already had the best front 3 in the world at their hands.
• With Origi and Sturridge also established as back-up and Shaqiri coming in, it was better for Ings to move on to a place like Southampton, where he has flourished since.

Lucas Leiva

• An underrated legend at Liverpool, Lucas spent a decade at the club constantly overcoming setbacks.
• The sale of Lucas Leiva is an example of Klopp being able to pull the trigger when changes in the squad are needed, even on a long-serving player like the Brazilian.
• The 33-year-old has enjoyed a positive time at Lazio in Italy, making 131 appearances for the Italian side.

Special mentions: Martin Skrtel, Nathaniel Clyne, Simon Mignolet