Liverpool squad were sent immediate message when team

Liverpool squad were sent immediate message when team-mate was sent home from pre-season

Liverpool's pre-season tour of the USA was rocked after one of their players broke the rules and was sent home

As Liverpool currently navigate their latest American pre-season tour, it brings to mind a much more turbulent transatlantic trip from the club's past. A high-profile clash between former manager Jurgen Klopp and ex-defender Mamadou Sakho derailed a previous US expedition, with parts of the tension famously caught on camera.

The 36-year-old Sakho formally announced his retirement earlier this year, having found himself without a team since May 2025. Initially brought to Merseyside to reinforce the backline, the French international was an £18million acquisition made by Brendan Rodgers from Paris Saint-Germain back in September 2013.

That dramatic summer in 2016 tour served as Klopp's very first pre-season at the helm after taking the Anfield reins in October 2015. Determined to lay down the law and send a message to his squad that guidelines were not up for debate, the German tactician ruthlessly asserted his authority by banishing Sakho back to the UK prematurely.

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The issue emerged after Sakho was given a GoPro camera as the Liverpool squad visited Alcatraz prison in San Francisco. As Klopp was being interviewed by club personnel, Sakho crept up and laughed in the background and the German revealed that Sakho had breached a club rule on punctuality.

"We could have left Mama Sakho here because he is filming me while I give the interview here," Klopp said. Sakho interjected: "I have just one question. How long do you think you can live here?"

"Actually, I don't have to think about it. You should think about it," Klopp said back. "Because only one of us came late last night, for departure in Liverpool. It was not me."

Speaking after Sakho was sent home from the USA, Klopp explained: "I thought maybe it made sense for him to fly home to Liverpool and after eight or 10 days, when we come back, we can talk about it. It's not that serious.

"He nearly missed the departure of the plane, he missed a session and was late for a meal. We have some rules and we have to respect them. If somebody doesn't respect it or somebody gives me the feeling he is not respecting it, then I have to react, that's all.

"It is private how he reacted. But we had no argument. You cannot argue when only one person is speaking. That's all. I think missed a session is missed a session. Even injured players have sessions."

Addressing the matter subsequently while in France, Sakho openly acknowledged his tendency for lateness to Canal Football Club, saying: "It is true that I turned up late. There was a rule that I should have observed. I do not at all see myself as above the rules, I respect everyone.

"I paid my fine, I was sanctioned, I apologised to my team-mates and my manager. Aside from that... I do not want to go into the controversies."

Sakho's maiden season at the club came agonisingly close to delivering Liverpool their first Premier League title in nearly 25 years. Yet he featured in just 18 Premier League matches as Liverpool's defence conceded 50 goals, ultimately proving costly in the title race.

Despite impressing during Klopp's early tenure, his time at Anfield never truly flourished. The centre-back's conduct in the USA proved to be the final straw for Klopp, whose patience had been exhausted. Sakho was relegated to the Under-23s and never pulled on the senior shirt again.

January 2017 arrived and Sakho departed Liverpool, completing a loan move to Crystal Palace. The Frenchman performed so outstandingly in south London that the Eagles secured his signature permanently in the summer of 2017, forking out £25m.

He left the club in the summer of 2022. Sakho subsequently turned out for Montpellier and later Torpedo Kutaisi in the Georgian top flight before hanging up his boots on a colourful career.

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