As Liverpool prepare to face Chelsea at Anfield, here's your Liverpool FC morning digest on Saturday, January 21.
Jurgen Klopp explains Roberto Firmino contract delay and makes Liverpool exit admission
Jurgen Klopp has reiterated his hope of keeping Roberto Firmino at Liverpool beyond this season but admits the Brazil forward may have other plans.
The former Hoffenheim star is into the final few months of a contract he signed in April 2018 and could end an eight-year stay on Merseyside this summer by walking away as a free agent amid reported interest from clubs in the Middle East.
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Firmino has not featured for the Reds competitively since November's victory over Southampton and has missed the last seven games with a calf injury, but he remains an integral part of the plan at Anfield, says Klopp.
Firmino, who turns 32 in October, has seen Liverpool's frontline undergo a major renovation over the last 12 months following the signings of Luis Diaz, Darwin Nunez and Cody Gakpo in the same timeframe that Sadio Mane was sold to Bayern Munich and Mohamed Salah signed a new, long-term contract.
And asked what might be the hold up on confirmation of an extension for Firmino, Klopp said: "They are normal things. What could be the reason from our point of view?
"There is no reason to give too detailed information but when you think a bit, where could it hang? It could be the time, it could be the money or these kinds of things, but it is completely normal."
Read the full story HERE.
Juventus points deduction and punishment sees Liverpool rivals suffer major blow
Liverpool's Champions League qualification rivals Tottenham have suffered a set-back after one of their directors was slapped with a suspension from the sport.
Fabio Paratici has been given a two-and-a-half year ban from football by the Italian Football Federation after the Turin Public Prosecutor's Office investigation into 'false accounting' and 'market manipulation' at Juventus.
An investigation was re-opened into Juve's finances last year, with the prosecutor alleging that the club misrepresented financial losses in the period from 2018-2020, with particular scrutiny cast over the amount recorded for player sales.
The result of the investigation is that the Old Lady have been handed a 15-point deduction in Serie A with owner Andrea Agnelli banned for two years. Former Juve player Pavel Nedved - who resigned as a director of the club in October - was given an eight-month ban.
Paratici was at Juventus for 11 years before joining Tottenham as their managing director in 2021. He has been given a 30-month temporary ban from carrying out activities within the FIGC, with a request for that to be extended to competitions within UEFA and FIFA.
Read the full story HERE.
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