With Liverpool on the verge of their final few matches of the season, it’s natural for the mind to wander towards the end of the year. One of the looming things is how the club will spend its final home game – indeed, the final match of the season – celebrating the departures of club legends Andrew Robertson and Mohamed Salah.
Two stalwarts of the Jurgen Klopp Era and, unquestionably, two of the best to ever play at their respective positions, Robbo and Mo’s celebrations will certainly be large and boisterous as is befitting players of their stature. In the case of Salah, this is curtains on a Premier League career that sees him among the very best ever to play in the top flight and, at Liverpool, likely equal to the likes of Kenny Dalglish and Steven Gerrard in terms of importance to the club.
As is the case when careers this big wind down, the Egyptian King has been in a bit of a media cycle where former colleagues have been sending their well-wishes and goodbyes. A bit of a nostalgic trip through the good old days, one might say.
During one such interview, Mo told Steven Gerrard that he hoped the team and fans might figure out a way to use the lucky coincidence that Brentford would be the opponent in that final match as the Bees roster currently features one Jordan Henderson. And, per Mo, he feels it would be fitting and right that Hendo, who never got a farewell tour because he left during the summer, get a belated send-off now.
“Last game of the season is against Brentford. People in the city know how much it meant to Hendo also, being here and captain of the club for 12 years. More than me, more than Virg [Virgil van Dijk], more than Robbo, more than anyone. He didn’t get the send-off or farewell he deserved because he left immediately. I don’t know how the club is going to manage it, I have no plan, I don’t know how the supporters will also manage it, but I really wish they do something special for him because he’s been one of the best players in this club. Without him and being there in the dressing room, without him we wouldn’t have achieved what we achieved. So I really hope the fans will give him a good send-off.”
Touching words from Mo and a magnanimous gesture given that the unspoken piece about Hendo’s departure that soured some fans on him was that he opted to take a giant payday to play in Saudi Arabia which, given anti-LGBTQ laws on the books, stood in contrast to his support for the LGBTQ community while at Liverpool.
We’ve not heard anything yet about a potential opportunity being taken by the club to honor three icons from the Klopp Era. But, regardless, it does feel like we’re looking at the end of that time entirely. Klopp’s team will, by the end of the season, nearly all have moved on. It makes me want to go back and find highlights from those years. It all goes by so fast. As Andy Bernard from The (American) Office said, I wish there was a way to know you were in the good old days before you’ve actually left them.