Dejan Lovren has admitted he wanted to leave Liverpool in the summer transfer window but accepts Jurgen Klopp’s reasons for holding on to him.
The 30-year-old defender has fallen down Liverpool’s pecking order behind central defenders Virgil van Dijk, Joel Matip and Joe Gomez. He is yet to play for Liverpool this season and was linked with a move to Roma.
Lovren, talking to Croatian newspaper Sportske Novosti, said: “Yes, I did consider moving. I knew I gave my best for Liverpool, won the Champions League and I am not the kind of player that likes to be benched and earn money.”
“I feel very happy because all the time I felt Liverpool was by me. I respect that a lot. (Jurgen) Klopp told me ‘Lsten, buddy, you are top class player, we will not let you go on loan. We need you’. “I wanted to leave, it didn’t happen, I was told Liverpool needs me and I accepted that. Last week I spoke to Klopp again, he told me he understands me, knows I am not happy, but he also said ‘look, now it is finished, I want you to reset your head, I find you important’.
“I am in my prime age, in great shape, mentally ready and you can not buy experience. Some people around me advised me ‘What do you care, you are in big club, shut up take the money.’ But I am not happy on the bench.”
“I feel relief the transfer window is closed. I got tired of reading and listening every day about me leaving or staying in Liverpool. Everyone wrote ‘Dejan is here, Dejan is there’, and knew nothing! It annoyed me.”