Xherdan Shaqiri has made it clear that his positive relationship with former boss, Jurgen Klopp, remains intact after his Liverpool exit.
The Swiss international shared that the pair of them had swapped texts – with the German praising the attacker’s character – before his departure from Merseyside.
“I was in contact with him [Klopp] by phone before that,” the 29-year-old told Watson (via the Express).
“When the time came, he texted me. He wished me luck in that and said that I was a good player and a good guy.
“We never had any problems with each other, and we had a very good relationship.
“But I just wanted a new challenge, that’s normal in football. Jurgen helped me in this regard.”
The former Bayern Munich star enjoyed a solid, if not world-beating, Anfield career, registering 17 goal contributions in 63 appearances for the Reds (across all competitions).
READ MORE: ‘I wasn’t allowed to’ – Xherdan Shaqiri makes Liverpool admission after Anfield exit
One has to wonder what level of contribution the player would have been able to offer had enjoyed a consistent run of games for us.
Certainly, the evidence on offer from his international exploits would appear to suggest that the player was more than up for the challenge of being the main man at a Premier League club.
Of course, it has to be pointed out that the forward was up against a world-class trio in Sadio Mane, Bobby Firmino and Mo Salah; a forward line that has only since been strengthened with the addition of Diogo Jota.