What really happened between Jurgen Klopp and Michael Edwards before his 2022 Liverpool exit – report
The high-profile signing of striker Darwin Nunez in the summer of 2022 is widely cited as a key moment that demonstrated Jürgen Klopp’s growing transfer power, potentially contributing to the departure of highly-rated sporting director Michael Edwards later that year.
While Michael Edwards has officially said his departure was planned after a decade and driven by a strong supporter of change, reports have suggested an underlying tension between Jurgen Klopp’s personal preferences and the club’s established data-driven recruitment model.
Jurgen Klopp’s Darwin Nunez decision reportedly causes tension behind the scenes at Liverpool
James Pearce of The Athletic reveals Klopp insisted on the £64million deal for Nunez despite opposition from the analytics department, who favored other data-driven targets like Christopher Nkunku or Alexander Isak.
Former Liverpool director of research Ian Graham also recently revealed that although the data had ranked Nunez and Isak highly, Klopp ultimately chose Nunez, which caused friction.
However, according to the report, there was no breakup as such and Edwards and Ward ultimately resigned citing excessive exhaustion.
Responding to a question about whether there was a power struggle between Klopp and Edwards, Pearce said: “It’s certainly fair to say that with longevity and success, Klopp’s influence has grown in a multitude of different areas, including recruitment.
“A good example would be the signing of Darwin Nunez from Benfica in the summer of 2022, which was mainly pushed by Klopp. Former Liverpool director of research Ian Graham explained that this decision was not based on data. Christopher Nkunku (then at RB Leipzig) and Alexander Isak (then at Real Sociedad) were two of the alternative names proposed.
“There has been friction at times, but no big rifts that I am aware of. Both Edwards and Ward resigned as sporting directors because they felt burned out after more than a decade of service at Liverpool and needed a break.”
Jurgen Klopp may not be the best when it comes to player recruitment
Klopp’s judgment of players is not his strongest following, as previous instances also show.
Ian Graham previously revealed that the German was pushing to sign Julian Brandt over Mohamed Salah in 2017 and the only reason the Reds ended up with Salah is because it took a concerted effort from Edwards and Graham to convince Klopp.
Edwards and his team, on the other hand, have built a strong portfolio of successful data-driven signings, earning a reputation as one of the best footballing minds of modern times.
The data genius returned to Liverpool in 2024, taking charge of football from Liverpool owner FSG.
He and new sporting director Richard Hughes were responsible for the record transfer window that Liverpool took advantage of this summer, spending almost half a billion pounds on signings for elite players including Alexander Isak.
