Former Liverpool defender Martin Skrtel has revealed that a social media post insulting Jurgen Klopp contributed to his exit from the club, leading to his move to Fenerbahce in 2016. The 41-year-old spent eight-and-a-half years at Anfield before being sold to the Turkish giants, who face Liverpool in the Champions League on Wednesday.
Social Media Controversy
Skrtel was signed by Rafa Benitez and later starred under Brendan Rodgers as Liverpool came close to ending their league title drought. The Slovakia international initially retained his place upon Klopp's arrival in October 2015, but an injury in December allowed others to impress.
The defender made just five more appearances after returning to fitness in March and was linked with a move to Turkey that summer. However, Skrtel's seemingly inevitable departure attracted controversy after he responded to derogatory comments about Klopp on social media.
An Instagram post by the defender's friend had included a hashtag which translated to "Klopp is a d*******." Skrtel's account replied: "Last hashtag is top." The Instagram user responded: "Hope Jurgen won't see it," while Skrtel's account said: "Hope he does."
Apology and Exit
In June 2016, a month before joining Fenerbahce, Skrtel distanced himself from the comments made about Klopp. He offered an apology but insisted he had not posted the replies from his account.
"I am truly sorry for the situation and what was written under my name," Skrtel wrote on Instagram. "These days, when I am very busy, I have asked my close friend to help me manage my social media profiles. He got taken away and he did not realise how serious the comments may appear. I would like to stress that the opinion he expressed is not my opinion."
Despite his apology, Skrtel was not given time to fight his way back into the team as he was sold for £5.5million that July, while Joel Matip signed for the Reds that summer.
Support for Liverpool
Skrtel insisted that he would continue to support the club and shared his admiration for Klopp shortly after leaving Anfield. "Eight-and-a-half years, that's a lot," Skrtel said in September 2016. "I wanted to change and also want a new challenge. I am thankful to all the managers I worked with at Liverpool. Jurgen Klopp is a wonderful person but I feel if I stayed I couldn't have played like before."
He added: "I'm a Liverpool fan from now on. It'd be great if we won two finals last year but these things happen. I hope they'll win something in the future."
Skrtel spent three years with Fenerbahce and later won the Turkish Super Lig with Istanbul Basaksehir before retiring at Slovakian side Spartak Trnava in 2022. Klopp went on to win the Champions League and Premier League within four years of Skrtel's exit.
