For nearly a decade, a persistent story has circulated in football circles: that when Liverpool targeted a new winger in the summer of 2017, manager Jurgen Klopp favoured Julian Brandt of Bayer Leverkusen over Mohamed Salah. The narrative suggested the club’s recruitment team had to convince Klopp to pursue the Egyptian forward from AS Roma instead, leading to the £36.9 million deal that would reshape Liverpool’s history.
That long-standing claim was repeated as recently as this week. Now, Klopp has set the record straight in a candid new interview with The Anfield Wrap, conducted ahead of his return to Anfield as assistant coach for a Liverpool Legends fixture.
“There’s always the story that I wanted to sign Julian Brandt,” Klopp acknowledged. “This is the situation with that: if you go for a winger, you talk to seven, eight if you’re lucky. Yes, we spoke to Julian Brandt, but we spoke to Mo Salah [as well]. It wasn’t that [Brandt] didn’t want it so we took him.”
Klopp was unequivocal about the club’s conviction at the time. “Whatever people think, I don’t care really. But in the moment we were 100 percent convinced: he’s the one. More convinced than he was probably in that moment, because he was [worried].”
The revelation dismantles the myth that Salah was a reluctant second choice. Far from it—Liverpool’s hierarchy, backed by Klopp, saw the then-25-year-old as their clear priority once serious interest crystallised. The manager’s comments highlight how transfer sagas often simplify complex scouting processes into convenient headlines, ignoring the reality that top clubs routinely explore multiple targets for key positions.
What makes Klopp’s clarification particularly poignant is Salah’s own initial uncertainty upon signing. The Egyptian expressed genuine concerns about his role in a squad already featuring high-quality attackers.
“When we signed him I remember that he asked me: ‘Where will I play?’. And [I said] ‘oh, your position, right wing’,” Klopp recalled. “So for me he was a right winger, I didn’t think about second striker or whatever.”
Salah pushed back, pointing to the established presence of Sadio Mane on the right and Philippe Coutinho in attacking midfield. “Yeah, but Sadio Mane is playing there and he’s playing really well,” Salah replied. Klopp countered by suggesting Mane could shift to the left, to which Salah noted Coutinho’s role there too.
“He was really worried about if he would play,” Klopp explained. “So can you imagine Mo Salah today compared with that young man at the beginning of his real career?”
The contrast is indeed remarkable. The hesitant newcomer who feared limited minutes has evolved into one of the greatest players in Liverpool’s illustrious history and a defining figure in the Premier League era. Since arriving in 2017, Salah has delivered consistent excellence, racking up goals, assists, and silverware while becoming a talismanic presence at Anfield. His journey from doubt to dominance stands as a testament to talent, hard work, and the faith shown by Klopp and the club.
Meanwhile, Julian Brandt’s path took a different route. He remained at Bayer Leverkusen for two more years before joining Borussia Dortmund in a €25 million move. After nearly 300 appearances for the Bundesliga giants, the German international is set to depart on a free transfer this summer as his contract expires.
Klopp’s comments arrive at a reflective moment. With Salah’s Liverpool chapter entering a new phase and Klopp himself stepping back into the Anfield spotlight in a Legends capacity, the interview serves as both closure on an old rumour and a celebration of one of modern football’s most successful signings.
In the end, the “Brandt vs Salah” debate was never the binary choice some portrayed. Liverpool spoke to multiple wingers—as any ambitious club would—and settled on the player they believed in most. Nine years on, with Salah having rewritten expectations and records alike, few would argue that conviction was misplaced.
The wait for the truth is finally over. And the story, as it turns out, was always about Mo.