Skrtel reveals 'Klopp is a d*******' post hastened his £5.5m Anfield exit in 2016

Martin Skrtel has revealed that a social media post appearing to mock Jurgen Klopp played a significant role in ending his eight-and-a-half-year stint at Liverpool, with the Slovak defender sold to Fenerbahce for £5.5 million in July 2016.

Skrtel, who was signed by Rafael Benítez and went on to star under Brendan Rodgers as Liverpool came close to ending their long league title drought, initially retained his place after Klopp’s arrival in October 2015. A serious injury in December, however, opened the door for rivals to stake their claims, and the centre-back made just five more appearances after returning to fitness the following March.

The controversy erupted when Skrtel’s Instagram account appeared to endorse a post by a friend that included a hashtag translating to “Klopp is a d*.” His account replied: “Last hashtag is top.” When the original poster wrote “Hope Jurgen won’t see it”, Skrtel’s account responded: “Hope he does.”

A month before completing his move to Turkey, Skrtel issued a public apology but denied personally writing the comments, explaining that a close friend had been managing his social media profiles at the time.

“I am truly sorry for the situation and what was written under my name,” Skrtel wrote on Instagram. “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 the apology, Skrtel was not afforded the opportunity to fight his way back into Klopp’s plans. Joel Matip arrived at Anfield that same summer, further underlining the club’s intent to move on from the 41-year-old.

Skrtel was nonetheless generous in his assessment of Klopp when speaking in September 2016, describing the German as “a wonderful person” while acknowledging the time was right for a new challenge. “I’m a Liverpool fan from now on,” he added.

After three years with Fenerbahce, Skrtel went on to win the Turkish Süper Lig with Istanbul Başakşehir before retiring at Slovakian side Spartak Trnava in 2022. The story has resurfaced ahead of Fenerbahce’s Champions League fixture against Andoni Iraola’s Liverpool side.