Ex-Liverpool star disappointed at 'lack of communication' by Klopp over exit
Suraj Radia
- 20 Oct 2023 05:42 CDT
- 4 min read
Former Liverpool midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has admitted he was ‘surprised’ at the ‘lack of communication’ from Jurgen Klopp that he wouldn’t be getting a new contract.
Oxlade-Chamberlain left Liverpool on a free transfer during the summer after six years at the club, largely filled with injuries and a declining amount of game time, which led to him joining Besiktas upon the expiry of his contract.
Despite being an important player during his first few years at Anfield, Oxlade-Chamberlain made just nine Premier League appearances last season and the 30-year-old revealed that he was only told days before Liverpool’s final home game of the season that the club would be announcing his departure.
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“It was never said,” he told The Athletic when asked when he was told he would not be getting a new contract. “I obviously got the picture (laughs). I got told before they released the statement: ‘Just so you know, we’re putting this out about you, Milly, [James Milner] Bobby [Roberto Firmino] and Naby [Keita] leaving’. And I was like, ‘Oh, OK. Thanks’.
“But there was nothing official at any point before. It was just…the silence was enough to know what the situation was,” he continued. “I just guess you want that communicated to you because you start going out of your mind thinking, ‘What more can I do here?’,” he added. “And it was never really written off that you’re not getting offered a new contract.
“You just… expect certain things to be told — whether it’s good, bad, whatever, that’s how the game goes. The lack of communication was…a bit surprising.”
Oxlade-Chamberlain ‘tempted’ by Saudi Arabia transfer
In spite of the disappointing end to his career with Liverpool, Oxlade-Chamberlain insisted he had no issues with Klopp and left the club with fond memories alongside the likes of Fabinho, Jordan Henderson and Sadio Mane.
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Oxlade-Chamberlain was asked whether he would have considered joining his former teammates in Saudi Arabia after they all made transfers there in the summer and the midfielder admitted he considered it but opted for a switch to Turkey instead.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain on lack of chances last season:
"In January I was sort of getting a bit of momentum, scored at Brentford, then we had a bad result at Brighton — lost 3-0, got battered — and that was it for me.
"I was out of the squad for the majority of the rest of the… pic.twitter.com/MEPrcJE7Uv— Rousing The Kop (@RousingTheKop) October 20, 2023
“I was tempted,” Oxlade-Chamberlain said. “This isn’t a big part of it, but…it didn’t seem too realistic at the start.
“Over the transfer window, the whole shape of it changed as more boys went there and it became more appealing with how many lads were going to be there and how that’s going to improve the league.
“So for sure, I wasn’t like, ‘No I would never do that’. I respect the boys who have gone there, for whatever reasons. From what I’ve seen, the league looks quite good.”
