How Jurgen Klopp responded when Jamie Carragher asked if he could come out of retirement and play for Liverpool again in 2016
03/19/2025 04:00 PM
Jamie Carragher brought his Liverpool career to an end in 2013.
Having come through the Merseyside club’s academy the former defender went on to play for the Reds an incredible 737 times, while collecting major trophies such as the Champions League, FA Cup and League Cup along the way.
Carragher never got his hands on a Premier League trophy and the defender may have been kicking himself if Liverpool went on to win the English top-flight title the year after he retired as the Reds went close in 2013/14 under Brendan Rodgers.
Had he been a different age, the Sky Sports pundit would have realised that dream under Jurgen Klopp. The Liverpool legend never got a chance to play under the German coach but he did ask if he could return in 2016.
Jamie Carragher asks Jurgen Klopp to return to Liverpool
In 2016, Liverpool advanced to the League Cup final having got past Stoke City in the semi-finals on penalties.
Heading into the second leg at Anfield, Klopp was dealing with injuries with Joe Gomez and Dejan Lovren out injured at the back, while the German was also missing his main man Philippe Coutinho.
Speaking to Sky Sports after the game, Carragher used this as an opportunity to ask Klopp if he could get a game for Liverpool whilst the Merseyside club waited for centre-backs to return to full fitness.
Klopp laughed off the suggestion and responded by saying: “I had a lot of questions like this in the past. I can say the situation is not tough enough.
“If you want to you are always welcome, but at the end, I only need players who can go more than 120 minutes. If you are in this shape, call me. If not, stay in the studio.”
It is fair to say Carragher would not have been ready for 120 minutes around that time but if the Liverpool legend was still playing, could he have competed at that level?
Jamie Carragher would have struggled with modern football
Carragher will never be remembered as the best centre-back of his generation as the former England star had to compete with John Terry and Rio Ferdinand at the time. While at Liverpool, Steven Gerrard was the main man at Anfield during this time.
That is not to say the former centre-back was not good enough as he showed many times that he was of the standard to play at Liverpool’s level.
The Sky Sports pundit was a very strong tackler and had a good understanding of the game, while Klopp was once surprised by Carragher’s passing ability.
However, the centre-back would have struggled in the modern game at the highest level as current centre-back’s need everything to be successful.
Carragher would not have the recovery speed and the power needed to deal with a striker such as Erling Haaland, nor did he have the long-range passing of Virgil van Dijk to help pick out free wingers quickly.
The game has changed a lot since the Liverpool legend retired and the centre-back will be thankful he played in the era he did as he impressed Reds fans many times with his displays throughout his playing career.
