Liverpool midfielder Wijnaldum admits he “boils over” and gets angry with Klopp

Liverpool midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum has admitted he sometimes gets angry with boss Jurgen Klopp.

Klopp has transformed Liverpool since his arrival in 2015, turning the Reds back into title contenders after years in the wilderness and winning a sixth Champions League, beating Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 in the 2019 final – their first trophy since 2012.

Wijnaldum and Klopp: Five things to know…

• Wijnaldum signed for Liverpool in 2016, during Klopp’s first pre-season at Anfield.
• The Dutchman has become an increasingly key figure in Liverpool’s midfield.
• He scored twice in Liverpool’s 4-0 win over Barcelona, en route to winning the Champions League.
• But he started that game on the bench, only coming on at half-time to replace in the injured Andy Robertson.
• And Wijnaldum has revealed Klopp’s initial decision angered him.

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Wijnaldum joined Liverpool in 2016, ahead of Klopp’s first full season in charge at Anfield and has become an increasingly important member of the German’s team. With their Champions League hopes hanging in the balance, Wijnadlum scored twice in two minutes against Barcelona in the semi-final second leg, turning the tie on its head.

The 28-year-old started that crucial game on the bench, only coming on at half-time for the injured Andy Robertson, and Wijnaldum has revealed Klopp’s decision angered him.

“With the manager, it is more or less hate and love,” he said.

“I am sure he has the best interests at heart with every player in the squad. But sometimes you are so involved in a match and the manager is still chasing you.

“Then you just boil over sometimes – and, in my case, I do get angry with him,” he continued. “I still don’t know if what happened against Barcelona was his real plan.

“But that night I was so angry and so disappointed that he did not start me.

“Looking back, we can say things worked out all right. We will never know how it might have gone if the manager had started me.”

Wijnaldum has started all but one of Liverpool’s six games across all competitions so far, helping them in their perfect start to the Premier League.

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Wijnaldum: Klopp asked me about Van Dijk before I had signed

Despite the love-hate relationship, it appears Klopp does trust Wijnaldum, with the midfielder revealing he gave advice on the signing of Virgil van Dijk before he had even joined Liverpool himself.

“Before I even joined Liverpool, I had a meeting with Jurgen and during our talks, he asked me about Virgil van Dijk,” he added.

“I had always rated Virgil very highly and my exact words to Jurgen were, ‘He is going to make the defence a lot better’.

“So I was not surprised when Virgil won the Uefa Best Player award ahead of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. I actually expected him to win it.

“Virgil has had a blinder of a season and has been so successful. Nothing about him surprises me any more.”