Highlights

  • Mario Gotze's career took a downturn after leaving Borussia Dortmund and Jurgen Klopp for Bayern Munich, highlighting the impact of Klopp's guidance.
  • Philippe Coutinho's move to Barcelona proved to be a regretful decision as his performances declined compared to his time under Klopp at Liverpool.
  • Georginio Wijnaldum struggled after leaving Liverpool, going through multiple transfers and experiencing a decline in performance, emphasising the influence of Klopp on his success.

Over the years, Jurgen Klopp has seen many players come and go. At Liverpool, Borussia Dortmund and Mainz 05, the German has taken charge of over 1000 games as a senior manager. To do so with such success, he's had to know just when is the perfect moment to sell certain squad players.

Whether it be a talented youngster who might not quite ever live up to expectations, or a superstar just past their prime, Klopp has been pretty good and knowing just when to let certain footballers head elsewhere.

With news breaking that 2023/24 will be his final season as Liverpool manager, it feels as though now is the perfect moment to look back at his career. After all, it remains unclear just how well the Reds will get on in the coming years without their charismatic coach calling the shots.

And so, in no particular order, GIVEMESPORT has decided to name 10 players who flopped after leaving teams managed by Klopp. All stats used in tables come from Transfermarkt.

Mario Gotze

Borussia Dormund to Bayern Munich

Mario Gotze - Bayern Munich

Mario Gotze followed a well-trodden path for many promising young German footballers when he penned a deal with Bayern Munich in 2013. At the time, the 20-year-old was arguably the hottest prospect in Europe and his decision to leave Klopp's Borussia Dortmund looked like treason to many.

Rather satisfyingly – for BVB fans at least – his spell with Bayern started fine but ended up petering out fairly quickly. In his final season, he played just 14 Bundesliga games before being shipped back to Dortmund with his tale between his legs. He spent time at PSV Eindhoven before joining Eintracht Frankfurt but it's safe to say he never looked as comfortable on a football pitch without Klopp as his guide.

Mario Gotze

Career stats

Under Jurgen Klopp

Bayern Munich

Games

116

114

Goals

31

36

Assists

45

24

Minutes

8,145

7,387

Philippe Coutinho

Liverpool to Barcelona

Philippe Coutinho

It's true that Philippe Coutinho burst onto the scene under Brendan Rodgers at Liverpool. However, Klopp really took him to the next level. Once he'd fulfilled his ability and attained world-class status, the Brazilian seemed desperate to pull on the red and blue of Barcelona and there was no convincing him otherwise when they came knocking.

Klopp did his best to warn him off the move, telling Coutinho prior to the transfer going through: “Stay here and they will end up building a statue in your honour, go somewhere else, to Barcelona, to Bayern Munich, to Real Madrid, and you will be just another player. Here you can be something more.” Coutinho didn't listen, though, and boy how he'll regret that now... Still, the Reds will be laughing as they used that £142m made on his sale to cover the costs of signings like Virgil van Dijk and Alisson.

Philippe Coutinho

Career stats

Under Jurgen Klopp

Barcelona

Games

89

106

Goals

37

25

Assists

22

14

Minutes

6,589

6,229

Georginio Wijnaldum

Liverpool to Paris Saint-Germain

Georginio Wijnaldum

Georginio Wijnaldum was a vital part of the most successful era of Klopp's tenure, most notably scoring twice in quick succession in the comeback famous against Barcelona. Those semi-final goals would send the Reds to a Champions League final, where they would ease past Tottenham Hotspur with the Dutchman starting in the middle of the park.

After his contact with Liverpool expired, Wijnaldum moved to Paris Saint-Germain but he had a pretty miserable time in France. After just one season he was loaned out to Roma and then left permanently for Al-Ettifaq in 2023 – where he was briefly reunited with Jordan Henderson.

Georginio Wijnaldum

Career stats

Under Jurgen Klopp

Paris Saint-Germain

Games

237

38

Goals

22

3

Assists

16

3

Minutes

18,299

1,995

Nuri Sahin

Borussia Dortmund to Real Madrid

Nuri Sahin

Nuri Sahin built a reputation at Dortmund as one of the best midfielders in Europe, winning the league with Klopp in the 2010/11 campaign. He played 30 times in the division, bagging six goals and eight assists – which was enough to see him named Bundesliga Player of the Season.

His form caught the attention of Real Madrid and he moved to Spain that summer. Injury problems prevented him from building any real momentum and so he played just 10 times for Los Blancos before returning to the Yellow Submarine, likely wishing he'd never left. His form never really recovered.

Nuri Sahin

Career stats

Under Jurgen Klopp

Real Madrid

Games

178

10

Goals

22

1

Assists

36

1

Minutes

14,219

642

Xherdan Shaqiri

Liverpool to LyonXherdan Shaqiri

Xherdan Shaqiri was hardly a revelation at Anfield, although he did blossom into a rather effective squad member. Before joining the Reds, he spent time at the likes of Bayern Munich, Inter Milan and Stoke. He did enough with the Potters to earn a move to Liverpool where he four trophies.

He left England in 2021 to join Lyon. In just six months though, the Swiss had upped sticks and jumped across the pond to play for Chicago Fire. It's safe to say he wasn't able to find his best form during his time in France, as he made just 16 appearances before moving to America.

Xherdan Shaqiri

Career stats

Under Jurgen Klopp

Lyon

Games

63

11416

Goals

8

2

Assists

9

3

Minutes

2,585

995

Shinji Kagawa

Borussia Dortmund to Manchester UnitedShinji Kagawa at Man Utd

Shinji Kagawa looked absolutely electric under Klopp over in Germany. The silky attacking midfielder scored and provided an assist for Dortmund against rivals Bayern Munich in the 2012 DFB-Pokal Final and then moved to Manchester United just a matter of months later.

United fans might argue that Kagawa has half-decent at Old Trafford. He did, after all, win one Premier League at the club but the truth is, he's just one of many Bundesliga stars to shine half as bright in England. He lasted just two seasons, before – yeah, you guessed it – returning to Dortmund, never to be the same again.

Shinji Kagawa

Career stats

Under Jurgen Klopp

Manchester United

Games

109

57

Goals

35

6

Assists

26

10

Minutes

8,068

3,714

Emre Can

Liverpool to Juventus

Emre Can

The German thought the grass was greener in Turin but it turned out that he had made a cataclysmic error in leaving the Reds, who went on to enjoy bucket-loads of success in his absence – although it would be very cynical to suggest there is a correlation there.

Indeed, Emre Can was pretty dire at Juventus. Since then, he's joined Dortmund where life has improved and he's even become captain – though you can bet if he could turn back the clocks and stay with Klopp, he would do it in an instant.

Emre Can

Career stats

Under Jurgen Klopp

Juventus

Games

116

45

Goals

13

4

Assists

11

1

Minutes

9,137

2,534

Felipe Santana

Borussia Dortmund to Schalke 04Felipe Santana at Borussia Dortmund 

A lot of people won't remember much about Felipe Santana unless they just so happened to play a lot of FIFA 13 Ultimate Team back in the day – what a player! He left Dortmund kicking and screaming due to a lack of playing time, despite making 100 appearances under Klopp's tutorage.

Seeing as he thought Klopp was "stupid" he was probably happy to leave, controversially joining arch-rivals Schalke. In all honesty, hasn't amounted to anything notable since, spending the past few years in Brazil. His career certainly peaked in his Dortmund days.

Felipe Santana

Career stats

Under Jurgen Klopp

Schalke 04

Games

113

32

Goals

8

1

Assists

1

2

Minutes

7,517

2,164

Rhian Brewster

Liverpool to Sheffield United

Sheffield United's Rhian Brewster

Having won the U17 World Cup with England, Rhian Brewster was one of those talented academy kids who looked quite capable of having a bright future at Anfield. In particular, he caught the eye on loan at Swansea City where he scored 10 goals in 10 Championship games.

While many would have been tempted to keep hold of the striker at this stage, Liverpool had other ideas. A £23.5m bid came in from Sheffield United and it proved too good to turn down. That turned out to be a wise move as he took until August 2021 to score his first goal, having joined in October 2020.

Rhian Brewster

Career stats

Under Jurgen Klopp

Sheffield United

Games

4

72

Goals

0

5

Assists

0

1

Minutes

221

3,103

Jordan Henderson

Liverpool to Al-Ettifaq

Al Ettifaq's Jordan Henderson celebrates after the match

Jordan Henderson's qualities were often dismissed during his time at Liverpool but the truth is, he won it all with the Reds and he did so as Klopp's trusted captain. Those who did doubt the Englishman's quality, however, would have felt this was justified after watching him play in Saudi Arabia.

Henderson huffed and puffed in the humidity of the Middle East before leaving Al-Ettifaq after about six months. He cited his inability to adjust to the lifestyle in Saudi Arabia, particularly the heat and the playing conditions as his reasons for being unhappy in Saudi – not to mention the dismal crowd attendance records – and then joined Ajax.

Jordan Henderson

Career stats

Under Jurgen Klopp

Al-Ettifaq

Games

304

19

Goals

13

0

Assists

29

5

Minutes

22,027

1,727