Liverpool flop forced out by Jurgen Klopp angers new club after ‘refusing to get on team bus’

A former Liverpool midfielder has upset officials at his current club by declining to accompany his teammates on a trip.

Jurgen Klopp recruited him in 2018, but he departed last year following a disappointing stint at Anfield.

Returning to the Bundesliga, where he initially joined from, the 29-year-old may have further strained relationships with his recent behavior.

Naby Keita discovered he wasn’t part of Werder Bremen’s starting lineup for their game against Bayer Leverkusen and chose not to join the team on the bus to the match.

Instead, he opted to go home, with director Clemens Fritz shedding more light on the situation.

“Naby Keita found out that he would not be playing vs Leverkusen from the start, he decided not to get on the bus and to go home,” he began.

“We’ll talk to Keita and his agent about the consequences and how to proceed”.

Struggling with injuries during his time at Anfield, Keita returned to Germany but hasn’t made a significant impact since. He has only played five times this season and started just one game in total.

It’s a disappointing decline for a player who showed promise when joining the Premier League under Klopp’s management.

Despite setbacks, Klopp spoke highly of Naby, although his time in England may fade from memory for many, despite winning a Premier League and UEFA Champions League title before departing.

“Naby is an exceptional footballer, what a player he is,” began Klopp following Keita’s departure.

“Maybe one or two injuries too many just hindered him from getting really through.

“But if you go through – and I would really recommend that – if you go through our really big games of Liverpool FC you might be surprised how often Naby was in the starting line-up and how often he played incredibly well.”

In Keita’s absence, Werder suffered a 5-0 defeat as Bayer Leverkusen secured their inaugural Bundesliga title.