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Liverpool Boss Klopp ‘Surprised’ by Firmino’s Decision to Leave

Liverpool's Roberto Firmino celebrates after scoring the 7-0 goal during the English Premier League match between Liverpool FC and Manchester United in Liverpool, Britain, 05 March 2023. (EPA)
Liverpool's Roberto Firmino celebrates after scoring the 7-0 goal during the English Premier League match between Liverpool FC and Manchester United in Liverpool, Britain, 05 March 2023. (EPA)
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Liverpool Boss Klopp ‘Surprised’ by Firmino’s Decision to Leave

Liverpool's Roberto Firmino celebrates after scoring the 7-0 goal during the English Premier League match between Liverpool FC and Manchester United in Liverpool, Britain, 05 March 2023. (EPA)
Liverpool's Roberto Firmino celebrates after scoring the 7-0 goal during the English Premier League match between Liverpool FC and Manchester United in Liverpool, Britain, 05 March 2023. (EPA)

Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp said he was "a little bit surprised" by Roberto Firmino's decision to leave the club at the end of the season but wants to end the Brazilian forward's eight-year Anfield career on a high.

Firmino, whose contract expires in June, has helped Liverpool win the Champions League, Premier League, FA Cup and Club World Cup among other major honors since joining them from Hoffenheim in June 2015.

"Surprised? Yes, a little bit - it could go two ways and it went one. And I respect that a lot," Klopp told reporters on Friday. "But it's completely normal in this kind of long relationship that we have and Bobby has with the club.

"He told me and then the only other thing he said is, 'Now I want to bring this wonderful story to a positive end'."

Firmino, 31, has scored 108 goals in more than 350 games in all competitions and was part of a potent attacking trio with Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane, who left for Bayern Munich last June, that helped Liverpool win the 2019-20 league title.

"Sadio, Bobby and Mo together were for quite a while one of the best front three in world football," Klopp added.

Firmino scored seven times in 13 Premier League games before the World Cup break but missed two months following the restart after sustaining a calf injury and has been restricted to five substitute appearances since his return in February.

He came off the bench to score Liverpool's final goal in last Sunday's 7-0 hammering of rivals Manchester United.

"I loved the reception he got when he came on against United," Klopp said. "He is completely here and completely committed, and that's all we need to know.

"There's no time for a goodbye or whatever in this moment, there's enough time for that later in the season. He's one of these players that even when he would come with an opposition team, people would be really happy to see him."

Liverpool, fifth in the league with 42 points, travel to bottom club Bournemouth on Saturday.

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American Athletes Will Relish LA Olympic ‘Home Games’, Says Felix

Olympian Allyson Felix talks during the Deep Blue Business of Women's Sport Summit at Chelsea Factory on April 22, 2025 in New York City. (Getty Images/AFP)
Olympian Allyson Felix talks during the Deep Blue Business of Women's Sport Summit at Chelsea Factory on April 22, 2025 in New York City. (Getty Images/AFP)
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American Athletes Will Relish LA Olympic ‘Home Games’, Says Felix

Olympian Allyson Felix talks during the Deep Blue Business of Women's Sport Summit at Chelsea Factory on April 22, 2025 in New York City. (Getty Images/AFP)
Olympian Allyson Felix talks during the Deep Blue Business of Women's Sport Summit at Chelsea Factory on April 22, 2025 in New York City. (Getty Images/AFP)

American athletes at the Los Angeles Games in 2028 will have the rare opportunity to compete at an Olympics on home soil and those considering retirement may not be able to resist sticking around for the chance, Olympic legend Allyson Felix said.

Felix, the most decorated female track and field athlete of all time, has few regrets about an Olympic career that spanned five Games but said never getting the chance to lace up her spikes in the US is one.

"What I would have loved most is to have a home Games," Felix, an LA native and now an LA28 board member, told Reuters.

"We've worked really hard to bring the Games back to LA and more than anything, I'm excited the athletes have this opportunity to be on full display in America. That's huge.

"I'm excited for Angelinos and the rest of the world too. We get to welcome them in and they get to see the Games up close."

Gymnast Simone Biles said last week she had not yet decided whether to compete in what would be her fourth Games as she picked up her Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year award in Madrid.

Seven-time Olympic champion Biles saw first-hand the passionate reception French gymnasts received every time they were announced at the Bercy Arena during last year's Paris Games and it remains to be seen if the prospect of hearing roars of "USA! USA!" will entice her to return.

Felix said that vision has undeniable appeal to all potential Team USA athletes.

"If you can stick around to be involved in some capacity, you can't pass that up," Felix said.

Felix was all smiles at a recent event with the Los Angeles Jets where she surprised members of the venerable youth track and field club with the children's snack food Danimals as part of a promotional campaign.

"The Jets are such a powerhouse and a staple in the community and looking at these kids it's interesting because beyond '28, they are going to be the ones who are out there," she said.

The mother of two has been a trailblazer for women in sports and said she saw glimpses of her younger self in the fresh-faced sprinters she lined up against.

"We did a little relay and they wanted to race me for real," said Felix, who won 11 Olympic medals including seven golds.

"I love to see that because yeah, you should!"