Liverpool icon Jamie Carragher has revealed Jurgen Klopp initially wanted to sign Julian Brandt over Mohamed Salah. The Reds’ hierarchy, however, held firm and brought the Egyptian to Anfield.

Mohamed Salah Has Been A Blessing For Liverpool

Liverpool signed Salah for a ̣£34 million ($43.40 million) fee from AS Roma in the summer of 2017. Over the last six-and-a-half years, the 31-year-old has produced numerous match-winning performances, cementing his legacy as one of the best players in Liverpool’s history.

Salah, who is currently representing Egypt in the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Ivory Coast, has played 332 games for the Merseysiders in all competitions, scoring 204 times and providing 88 assists. His heroics have helped Liverpool to one Premier League title (2020) and one UEFA Champions League trophy (2019), amongst other honors.

Carragher Claims Managers Should Not Always Get What They Want, Cites Manchester United’s Example

On the Stick to Football podcast, Carragher said Liverpool would have missed out on such a world-class player [Salah] had they listened to Klopp and signed then-Bayer Leverkusen man Brandt. He claimed that Klopp’s misjudgement proved why managers should not get complete autonomy over transfers.

The Englishman said:

“When he initially came in, an interesting one was Mohamed Salah and Jurgen Klopp is open about this.

“He didn’t want to sign him, he wanted Julian Brandt. Liverpool had tried to sign Salah before he went to Chelsea and the people behind the scenes at Liverpool were still there and Salah then went to Roma, and they were very adamant that they had to sign this player. You look at what Mohamed Salah has done, but it could have easily gone the other way.”

He also took an indirect dig at Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag, suggesting the Red Devils should not have given him free rein in the transfer market.

Carragher added:

“I do feel that this idea that managers should buy every player isn’t right, but a manager shouldn’t have a player pushed on him.

“I don’t think a manager should just be able to do what he wants, you look at Manchester United and its worrying, it feels as if he’s [Erik ten Hag] just bought every player he knows.”

Combining loanees and permanent signings, Ten Hag has brought 16 players to Old Trafford since July 2022. Apart from Lisandro Martinez, Casemiro, and Christian Eriksen, none of the signings have lived up to expectations. Antony and Mason Mount, whom United signed for a combined £140.6 million ($179.44 million), have been particularly disappointing.