Top players Jurgen Klopp has sold during his career

Klopp won two

titles in Germany and is now on the brink of winning the

title with

after becoming European champions in 2019.

In four years, he has transformed the Reds from a club struggling to reach the top four to Premier League title contenders and Champions League winners.

According to reports, the German has spent huge amount of money to sign world-class talents like

,

,

, and Fabinho. However, Liverpool head coach has sold 36 players at Liverpool for a combined £338m.

The followings are a compilation of top players moved on by Klopp throughout his managerial career:

Mario Gotze to Bayern Munich

Mario Gotze, born 3 June 1992, is a German professional footballer who currently plays for

in the German Bundesliga. His speed, technique, and dribbling skills make him a great

<span style="font-family:times new roman,serif">

midfielder and striker.

Gotze was expected to be the next great player after making his breakthrough under Klopp at Dortmund and won the prestigious Golden Boy award in 2011.

"I'm still in touch with Jurgen," Gotze told reporters. "Of course, he taught me everything about professional football. At that time, I was just 17 and coming up from the youth team. He introduced me to everything. He let me play."

triggered his £31.5million release clause in 2013, making Gotze the most expensive German player of all time.

Klopp was so shocked at Gotze's decision to leave Borussia Dortmund for Bayern Munich that he couldn't speak to anyone, including his own wife.

The 20-year-old made a €37 million move to the Allianz Arena after coming through the ranks at BVB.

Although Gotze failed to live up to his potential at the Allianz Arena, returning to Dortmund three years later, he did score the winning goal in the 2014 World Cup final.

There was a rumor that Klopp would attempt to sign Gotze after arriving at Liverpool FC.

Ivan Perisic to

<span style="font-family:times new roman,serif">

Wolfsburg

, born 2 February 1989, is a Croatian professional footballer who plays for Bayern Munich, on loan from Italian club

, and the Croatia national team. He usually plays as a winger, an attacking midfielder, or second striker.

Perisic got on the wrong side of the charismatic German coach by finding his first-team opportunities limited at Dortmund, and later was sold to

in 2013 after criticizing him in public.

"I have no reason to be happy. I am playing even less than last season," Perisic told reporters in 2012.

"I think Jurgen Klopp is the best manager in Germany but I do not feel supported by him. I am planning to talk to him.

Perisic also accused Klopp of favoring certain members of the BVB squad.

Perisic added, “We have no relationship. He is the best coach in Germany right now, the number one, everyone accepts the subordinate role.

"And rightly so, what we achieved in Dortmund over the past few years is unique. The atmosphere in the team is perfect, but he has three to four players with whom he discusses things. The rest of us are pros, doing their job."

On the other hand, Klopp reacted by firing back at Perisic via the media in Germany.

"A professional footballer is unhappy when he is not playing," he was quoted as saying by Goal. "If he then keeps his mouth shut, it is better for him at the end.

"Complaining in public is childish."

Although it was not officially announced, reports claimed that Perisic faced a €15,000 fine because of his outburst. The relationship between Perisic and Klopp never recovered, and the Croatian was offloaded to Wolfsburg within two months.

Perisic shone for Wolfsburg and Inter before returning to Germany with Bayern Munich after breaking England's hearts with Croatia in the 2018 World Cup semi-final.

Philippe Coutinho to Barcelona

Philippe Coutinho Correia, born 12 June 1992, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or winger for Bundesliga club Bayern Munich, on loan from Barcelona, and the Brazil national team.

The Brazilian developed into one of the best players in the Premier League at Liverpool and Barcelona spent £142million on the midfielder in 2018.

Coutinho is by far the most expensive player Klopp has ever sold.

Although he struggled to replace Andres Iniesta at the Camp Nou, he was good at Anfield.

Klopp said Liverpool had a tough choice to make when agreeing to sell Coutinho to Barcelona, but believes that it was fair.

"I really respected Phil's switch from the first second," he told reporters.

"Not that I do that all the time but it felt 'oh wow that could be difficult'.

"So it's not about yes we signed a new contract so many weeks before that but it was really clear he would not have asked me for any other club but for this club, there was no chance.

"Then we had to be hard in the summer because we had no other solution. We lost Adam Lallana in that time as well, we would have lost two players.

"That's not possible, you cannot solve that on the transfer market.

"He was open to that [staying] and that was really cool. Then you have to be fair in the window and say we can do it, we don't like it but we can do it."

However, Coutinho struggled to adjust at Barca and was shipped out on loan to Bayern Munich for the 2019-2020 season.

E

mre

Can to Juventus

Emre Can, born 12 January 1994, is a German professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Borussia Dortmund on loan from Italian club Juventus, until June 2020, and the Germany national team. As a versatile player, Can has also played as a defensive midfielder, center back, and full back.

Can refused to sign a new contract at Liverpool and the Reds accepted that immediately, letting the German midfielder leave on a free for Juventus at the end of the season.

His name has barely been mentioned on Merseyside since his departure, and with Liverpool spending big on Fabinho and Naby Keita, he doesn't appear to be missed at all.

Can said to reporters that he left Liverpool for Juventus to have the opportunity to follow in the footsteps of his idol Zinedine Zidane.

"I had a lot of offers from very good teams," Can said.

"I decided to come to Juventus because I think the project here is very big. They have very big aims. I want to be part of the project here.

"I am really happy to be here. I know how Juventus play, I watched a lot of the games last season. One of my biggest idols was Zidane who played here too."

Later, Can departed the Turin-based club to return to his homeland and join Lucien Favre's side.

Loris Karius to

<span style="font-family:times new roman,serif">

Besiktas

Loris Sven Karius, born 22 June 1993, is a German professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Premier League club Liverpool.

If it was not for his super costly errors in the UCL final, Karius might still be guarding the club. Sadly, it is how the football works, all it takes is one blunder to slide a player down from the pinnacle of his form. 

When Karius arrived at Anfield for €6.20M from Mainz, the Goalkeeping side of the Reds was not in great shape. The inconsistency and the lack of form of Mignolet were costing them important points.

Karius started his Liverpool career on a dull note, managing a few starts here and there. But by the end of 2017-18 season, he rose to the form of his career and cemented his place as the number one goalkeeper for the Reds.

It didn't last long as he let his team down when they needed him the most. He made two mistakes in the Champions League final.

Karius was sold to Besiktas on a two-year loan deal after committing two high-profile errors in Liverpool's Champions League final defeat by Real Madrid at the end of last season.

Lucas Barrios to Guangzhou Evergrande

Lucas Ramón Barrios Cáceres, born 13 November 1984, is an Argentine-born Paraguayan footballer who plays as a forward for Argentine First Division club Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata.

Barrios scored 49 goals in 101 appearances under Klopp at Dortmund, including back-to-back 20+ goal seasons, before deciding to join Chinese Super League club Guangzhou Evergrande in 2012, having won two titles with the German outfit.

The striker has since had spells in Russia, France, Argentina, and Chile and won the Copa Libertadores with Gremio in 2017.

Antonio Rukavina to Bayern Munich

Antonio Rukavina, born 26 January 1984, is a Serbian professional footballer who plays as a defender for Kazakh club Astana and the Serbia national team.

In 2008, Rukavina was transferred to German club Borussia Dortmund, penning a long-term contract. He made his Bundesliga debut in February of the same year, playing the full 90 minutes in a 3–3 away draw at MSV Duisburg.

Rukavina only made eight appearances under Klopp at Borussia Dortmund before joining 1860 Munich on a permanent deal in 2009.

The right-back moved to Spain three years later and went on to make 131 La Liga appearances for Real Valladolid and Villarreal, winning over 50 caps for Serbia in the process.

Mamadou Sakho to Crystal Palace

Mamadou Sakho, born 13 February 1990, is a French professional footballer who plays as a center back for Premier League club, Crystal Palace, and the France national team. He is mainly known for his tackling ability and his passing accuracy.

Despite shining under Klopp in Liverpool's run to the Europa League final, Sakho fell out of favor with the Reds boss after numerous disciplinary issues and finally was sold to Crystal Palace for £24million in 2017.

After a year out on loan with Crystal Palace, the South London club finally made Mamadou Sakho's move permanent, paying £26m for his services.

The Reds pocketed £26m for Sakho's services and currently boast the best defensive record in the Premier League.

The Frenchman is a regular starter for Roy Hodgson's side and recently returned to the national set-up. His transfer was called a win-win deal.

Mario Balotelli to Milan

Mario Balotelli Barwuah, born 12 August 1990, is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Serie A club Brescia and the Italy national team.

In August 2014, Balotelli joined Liverpool for a £16 million transfer fee to replace the outgoing Luis Suárez. He made his Liverpool debut in a league game away to Tottenham Hotspur on 31 August, a game Liverpool won 3–0.

He scored just 4 goals in 28 appearances and at season's end and was adjudged by many to be among the worst signings of the season.

In 2015, Balotelli returned to Milan on a season-long loan deal, where he helped the club reach the final of the Coppa Italia tournament.

Lucas Leiva to Lazio

Lucas Pezzini Leiva, born 9 January 1987, known as Lucas or Lucas Leiva, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Italian club Lazio and the Brazil national team.

"Things change but Lucas is a special case," Klopp told reporters in 2017. "He asked for [to leave]. I would say he's a friend. He's a fantastic person.

"How I know and how he knows, he has a few issues when he's not playing! But we always had a very respectful understanding.

"It was really good. When he left, we both had a little tear in our eye. It was really a special moment."

After making just 12 Premier League starts in 2016-17, the Liverpool player decided to depart Merseyside and join Serie A giants Lazio.

The 33-year-old was named Lazio's Player of the Year in his first two seasons at the club and helped his side win the Coppa Italia in 2019.

Nuri Sahin to Real Madrid

Nuri Şahin, born 5 September 1988, is a Turkish professional footballer who plays for Bundesliga club Werder Bremen. He is mainly known for his passing ability as a central midfielder.

Sahin was an integral part of Klopp's successful Dortmund team and his impressive performances earned him a move to Real Madrid in 2011.

He struggled with injuries in Madrid and failed to establish himself in the team under Jose Mourinho, making just 10 appearances for the Spanish giants.

After an underwhelming loan spell at Liverpool, the midfielder returned to Dortmund and reunited with Klopp in 2013.

Sahin stayed at Dortmund until his transfer to Werder Bremen in August 2018.

Simon Mignolet to Club Brugge

Simon Luc Hildebert Mignolet, born 6 March 1988, is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Belgian club Club Brugge and the Belgium national team.

The goalkeeper was a regular in the Liverpool team during Klopp's first year at the club but lost his place to Loris Karius and then Alisson Becker.

Mignolet joined Club Brugge in 2019 and has kept 16 clean sheets in 27 Jupiler Pro League games, with his side declared Belgian champions after the remainder of the season was canceled.

Mignolet's £6.4m move to Club Brugge made him the 36th player to be sold by Klopp at Liverpool and marked the completion of his rebuild.

Although fans might not rank Mignolet as a top player, since leaving Liverpool for Club Brugge in 2019, he’s kept 16 clean sheets in 27 games and reminded everyone why he was once so highly rated.

Some other sold players by Klopp included:

Jordan Rossiter (Rangers, £250k)

Jose Enrique (Real Zaragoza, released)

Kolo Toure (Celtic, released)

Joao Texeira (Porto, £250k)

Jerome Sinclair (Watford, £4m)

Sergi Canos (Norwich, £2.5m)

Martin Skrtel (Fenerbahce, £5.5m)

Jordan Ibe (Bournemouth, £15m)

Joe Allen (Stoke, £11m)

Brad Smith (Bournemouth, £3m)

Christian Benteke (Crystal Palace, £27m)

Luis Alberto (Lazio, £4.3m)

Tiago Ilori (Reading, £3.75m)

Andre Wisdom (Derby, £2m)

Kevin Stewart (Hull, £4m)

Cameron Brannagan (Oxford, £205k)

Jon Flanagan (Rangers, released)

Danny Ward (Leicester, £12.5m)

Ragnar Klavan (Cagliari, £2m)

Lazar Markovic (Fulham, free)

Dominic Solanke (Bournemouth, £19m)

Daniel Sturridge (Trabzonspor, released)

Alberto Moreno (Villarreal, released)

Adam Bodgan (Hibernian, free)

Rafael Camacho (Sporting CP, £5m)

Ryan Kent (Rangers, £6.5m)

Danny Ings (Southampton, £18m)

Read More:

Follow

 for