Gary Lineker has drawn a damning comparison between Manchester United never-ending difficult transition out of the Sir Alex Ferguson era and the seamless way Liverpool have been able to move on from Jurgen Klopp.
Arne Slot’s Liverpool are flying at the top of the Premier League, cruised through the league phase of the Champions League, and have already qualified for their first final of the Dutchman’s era: a Wembley showdown with Newcastle United in the EFL Cup final later this month.
That stands in stark contrast to United’s decline almost the moment Sir Alex departed Manchester United following his final Premier League triumph in 2013, with matters only going from bad to worse over the past 12 years.
Gary Lineker: Manchester United problems after Ferguson departure night and day from Liverpool after Klopp
Speaking on BBC One following Manchester United’s FA Cup exit to Fulham, Slot said: “If you look at Liverpool now, they’ve got a new manager in Arne Slot, and it’s testament to how Jurgen Klopp left the club in a really good state, so the structure is really good.
“That probably wasn’t the case at the end of Sir Alex Ferguson’s [reign]. I know they won the league that season, but it wasn’t their best side, and a lot of their great players were coming to the end of their careers. I think from there they had problems. The academy wasn’t delivering the players that they were before.”
For FourFourTwo, it’s obvious that Liverpool were left in a better immediate position following Klopp’s departure than United were when Sir Alex left United – but time will tell how sustainable that is.
Liverpool have benefited massively from Mohamed Salah’s unbelievable form this season - making him the 3/1 favourite to win the 2025 Ballon d'Or - but the Egyptian international will turn 33 this summer amid questions over his future.
Captain Virgin van Dijk is a year older than Salah and in a similar contractual position, while Trent Alexander-Arnold’s future is also in doubt and questions were raised over the form of long-standing 30-year-old left-back Andy Robertson in the first half of this season.
For now everything is rosy at Anfield, but replacing players of that kind of influence has proven to be a massive job for plenty of clubs before Liverpool.
United, for instance, suffered from the need to replace massive players like Rio Ferdinand (who ranked at No.1 in FourFourTwo's list of the best Premier League defenders of all time), Nemanja Vidic, Patrice Evra and Robin van Persie as their careers at the club wound down – something Ferguson had always done masterfully.
Manchester City meanwhile had to face up to a similar stark reality this season after their sudden and unexpected loss of form, with Kyle Walker sent out on loan and several expensive new signings arriving in January to address numerous issues in the squad.
Liverpool will be aware they need to prove Lineker’s confidence in their setup to stay at the top of their game.
