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Former Liverpool midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has spoken about his Liverpool career for the first time since leaving the club this summer. The Englishman spoke about his relationship with manager Jurgen Klopp and his final season at the club before he left as a free agent.
Oxlade-Chamberlain moved to Anfield in 2017 after establishing himself as one of English football's finest talents at Arsenal. The midfielder had an instant impact at his new club and was quickly becoming an important player for Klopp before he suffered an unfortunate injury.
The Englishman ruptured his Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) in a UEFA Champions League semifinal clash against AS Roma in 2018, ruling him out for months. He never got back to his high level when he returned, and he further suffered a number of other injuries, including a knee injury in 2020.
Oxlade-Chamberlain joined Besiktas this summer after he was released by the Reds and has spoken to The Athletic about his exit. He revealed that he was not getting a look-in at the club, understandably so, because of the younger players.
"Some of the younger players were getting an opportunity to be involved, getting them ready for years to come, which I understand."
He complained that he was not receiving any communication from the manager about his situation, and that worried him, saying:
"I just guess you want that communicated to you because you start going out of your mind thinking, ‘what more can I do here?’. And it was never really written off that you’re not getting offered a new contract."
The lack of communication extended to his contract situation, and the club only informed him that they wanted to release him shortly before his contract was up. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain also spoke about his relationship with Jurgen Klopp, clarifying that they had no issues whatsoever:
"We [he and Klopp] had a good relationship. There was never any falling out or anything like that. I understand as a manager it’s not easy to navigate every player’s needs, but when I was playing, I definitely enjoyed him a lot more than when I wasn’t even on the bench [laughs]. But that’s how it goes."
The Englishman has scored once in 10 games for Besiktas across competitions this season.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain enjoyed trophy-laden Liverpool spell
In his time at Liverpool, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain managed to win every major title available on offer, including the FIFA Club World Cup. The midfielder had to be content with a peripheral role in those triumphs.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain featured only nine times in the Premier League in his final season at the club. Overall, he scored 18 goals and provided 15 assists in 146 games for the Reds. He was released alongside Naby Keita, James Milner, and Roberto Firmino, all of whom were highly decorated.
His move to Besiktas sees him play for a club outside England for the first time in his career. The 30-year-old has had an impressive start to his career in Turkiye.
