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I DIDN’T FEEL LOVED AND APPRECIATED – GINI WIJNALDUM SPEAKS ON LIVERPOOL EXIT.

Georginio Wijnaldum has opened up about the reasons for his departure from Liverpool this summer and said he didn’t “feel loved and appreciated” by some at the club.

Wijnaldum, 30, joined Paris Saint-Germain on a free transfer after his contract at Anfield expired following five years with the Premier League club.

The midfielder played a key role in helping Liverpool win the 2019 Champions League as well as the club’s first ever Premier League title the following year but said he didn’t feel valued by some members.

“There was a moment when I didn’t feel loved and appreciated,” he told reporters. “Not my teammates, not the people at Melwood [training ground].

“From them I know, I can say they all love me and I love them. It was not from that side. More the other side.”

Wijnaldum was given a guard of honour in his final game at Liverpool after they claimed a 2-0 victory against Crystal Palace to secure a top four finish last season.

He was applauded by the playing and coaching staff and received a huge ovation from the Liverpool supporters but said he didn’t feel appreciated by some fans online.

“I have to say also there was social media,” he added. “When it went bad, I was the player who they blamed — that I wanted to leave. Every day in training and in the games, I gave everything I had to bring it to a good end because, during the years, Liverpool meant so much to me and because of the way the fans in the stadium were treating me.

“My feeling was that the fans in the stadium and the fans on social media were two different kinds. The fans in the stadium always supported me. Even when they came back [after the COVID-19 break], already knowing that I was going to leave, they still supported me and, in the end, they gave me a great farewell.

“On social media, if we lost, I was the one who got the blame. There was a moment when I was like: ‘Wow. If they only knew what I was doing to stay fit and play every game.’

“Other players might have said: ‘OK, I am not fit.’ You get players in their last year who are like: ‘I’m not playing because it is a risk.’ I did the opposite.”

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LIVERPOOL’S CAOIMHIN KELLEHER SIGNS NEW LONG-TERM CONTRACT, VOWS TO COMPETE WITH ALISSON BECKER

Liverpool goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher has pledged to continue pushing first-choice Alisson Becker after signing a new contract.

The Republic of Ireland international, 22, enjoyed a landmark season, making five appearances in the Premier League and Champions League to establish himself as number two at Anfield, while also making his Republic of Ireland debut.

“For me, it was a positive moment to commit my future to the club for the next few years,” Kelleher, who had made four cup appearances in the 2019-20 campaign, told liverpoolfc.com after signing what is understood to be a five-year deal.

“It’s such a big club and it’s an honour to be a part of it, so when I got the chance to sign for a few more years I was obviously delighted. I just want to keep my progress going at the club.

“It was a big year for me in terms of playing the first-team games this year and more important games; being thrown into the Champions League and Premier League games was big for my development and being able to handle that.

“It gave me a lot of confidence to try to push on, to try to keep pushing Ali because I can play at that kind of level as well and do well.

“I am looking forward, try to keep pushing him and we’ll see what happens.”

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MO SALAH TO PUSH LIVERPOOL FOR OLYMPIC RELEASE – EGYPTIAN FA PRESIDENT

Egyptian Football Association president Ahmed Megahed claims Mohamed Salah will push Liverpool to allow him to play in the Olympics despite the club turning down their request for him to be released.

With the forward set to be on duty at the African Nations Cup in January it is understood the club are unwilling to sanction another absence – especially during such a pivotal period in pre-season.

The Olympics in Tokyo run from July 22 until August 7, a week before the start of the Premier League campaign, and Liverpool do not view it as being in their best interests to allow the 29-year-old to attend.

Under FIFA rules clubs are under no obligation to release their players for the Olympics.

Megahed said Salah would make one last appeal to be allowed to join up as one of their three over-age players allowed in the squad.

“I do not want to say that it is impossible for Salah to participate in the Olympics, but it is difficult,” he told Egyptian broadcaster ONTimeSport.

“Salah agreed to lead the Olympic team during the last camp of the Egyptian team.

“We contacted Liverpool to allow Salah to join the Olympic team, and they said they were waiting for the approval of the technical staff.

“In the end, Liverpool refused the request because they do not want to lose the player at the beginning of the season, as well as next January with the Africa Cup of Nations, which will keep him from participating in the English Premier League matches.

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PSG BEAT BARCA, BAYERN MUNICH TO SIGN GEORGINIO WIJNALDUM

Paris Saint-Germain have beaten Barcelona and Bayern Munich to the signing of Georginio Wijnaldum from Liverpool on a free transfer.

Wijnaldum, 30, has agreed a three-year deal with PSG after deciding to run down his contract at Anfield, which expires at the end of June.

“Signing for Paris Saint-Germain is a new challenge for me,” Wijnaldum said. “I’m joining one of the best squads in Europe and I want to bring all my desire and commitment to this ambitious project. Paris Saint-Germain have proved how good they are in recent years and I am convinced that together, with our supporters, we can go even further and higher.”

The Netherlands international had previously reached an agreement to join Barca. His agents met with the Catalan club’s president Joan Laporta at the end of May and a medical had been pencilled in.

Barca’s interest in Wijnaldum dates back to last summer, when Ronald Koeman made him a target after being appointed as the club’s coach.

However, as first reported by ESPN on Friday, PSG made a late play to hijack Barca’s move for Wijnaldum.

Sources close to the negotiations told ESPN that the Ligue 1 side were willing to double the terms agreed with Barca, while a phone call from coach Mauricio Pochettino also helped persuade Wijnaldum to change his mind.

Bayern Munich also held talks with Wijnaldum, who informed the German club and Barca last weekend that he had decided to sign for PSG.

The midfielder becomes PSG’s first signing of the summer as they look to strengthen after missing out on the league title to Lille and a semifinal Champions League exit to Manchester City.

Wijnaldum, who is preparing for the European Championship with Netherlands, played for Feyenoord and PSV Eindhoven before making the move to England with Newcastle United in 2016 for around €15 million.

After Newcastle were relegated from the Premier League a year later, he joined Liverpool on a five-year deal for a fee of €25m.

He helped Liverpool win the Champions League in 2019, famously scoring twice in the semifinal win over Barca, and was part of the side which won the Premier League a year later.

During his five-year stay at Anfield, he also won the UEFA Super Cup and the Club World Cup.

In total, he made 237 appearances for Liverpool, scoring 22 goals.

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TAKUMI MINAMINO EQUALS KEISUKE HONDA’S GOAL RECORD AS JAPAN THRASH TAJIKISTAN

Takumi Minamino on Monday tied Keisuke Honda’s record of scoring in seven straight World Cup qualifiers, netting in Japan’s 4-1 win over Tajikistan in the second Asian qualifying round for the 2022 tournament in Qatar.

The Liverpool attacker, who was loaned to Southampton for the second half of the recently concluded Premier League season, scored Japan’s second in the 40th minute with a well-taken half-volley with his weaker left foot at Panasonic Stadium in Suita, Osaka Prefecture, where the Samurai Blue conceded for the first time in seven qualifying games of the round.

Minamino’s goal helped settle the nerves of the unfamiliar-looking Japan side, already through to the final round, which started on the front foot but but was heading into the break level against the determined visitors.

Kyogo Furuhashi struck just six minutes in after Takuma Asano ran behind the visitors’ back line only for his effort to be denied by keeper Rustam Yatimov. Furuhashi picked up the loose ball off a defender and steered home from just inside the box.

But Tajikistan needed just three minutes to end Japan’s record of not conceding a goal, with right-back Manucher Safarov whipping in a cross that was emphatically headed home by Ehson Panjshanbe.

Furuhashi on the right and Asano up top continued to offer some openings for Japan without an end product but the coveted second eventually arrived for Japan, with the move again started by Miki Yamane.

The right back, who played the through ball that led to the opener, again played a long ball on the floor for Furuhashi to chase down the right. The speedster provided a low first-time cross, which was squeezed in superbly by Minamino at the near post.

“I’m happy to go level with such a great player,” Minamino said after matching the record set in 2016 by Honda, who scored in three straight World Cup tournaments through 2018.

“Kyogo provided a good cross. I was targeting that space and I’m happy to have scored as it really was a nice pass,” added Minamino on fellow 26-year-old Furuhashi, who went to the same high school in Osaka.

Minamino was given a rest along with subpar Genki Haraguchi at halftime, but starters Kento Hashimoto and Hayao Kawabe both netted their first goals for the national side as manager Hajime Moriyasu’s decision to keep faith with inexperienced players proved a success.

Substitute and debutant Tatsuhiro Sakamoto made an instant impact, providing a low cross from the right that Hashimoto rolled into the far bottom corner six minutes after the break.

Japan kept up the pressure around neat play by substitute Daichi Kamada and Kawabe joined Hashimoto on the scoresheet in the 70th minute, rolling the ball into an empty net after visiting keeper Yatimov misplaced his pass while keeping possession.

“It helps for the development of the players with little experience to get end product. It also provides motivation for the team,” said Moriyasu.

Japan will face Serbia in a friendly on Friday before wrapping up the second round against Kyrgyzstan next Tuesday.

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SADIO MANE HITS BRACE AS LIVERPOOL SEAL THIRD PLACE, UCL AGAINST CRYSTAL PALACE

Sadio Mane’s two goals ensured Liverpool delivered when it mattered as the 2-0 victory over Crystal Palace secured not only Champions League football but a surprise third-placed finish.

With results for Chelsea and Leicester going their way the eighth victory in an unbeaten 10-match run saw Jurgen Klopp’s side finish the campaign just five points behind second-placed Manchester United.

Mane became only the second player in Premier League history after Robin Van Persie to score in eight consecutive appearances against the same opponent with goals late in either half.

But while Mane may have been the finisher Thiago Alcantara was the architect, with the Spain international concluding his maiden season at the club displaying the quality which for so long had been absent due to injury and illness.

It was just what the lucky 10,000 inside Anfield had wanted to see having been starved of live football for so long and while the performance was far from their best, there were enough good passages of play to suggest a team devastated by injury this season will bounce back next.

While rivals will mock Klopp’s praising of the achievement in securing Champions League football, a place among Europe’s elite again next season will be vital for a number of reasons – both financial and status – after more than a year operating in a global pandemic.

The players eventually warmed to the occasion having suffered a sluggish start, during which Wilfried Zaha and Andros Townsend both tested Alisson Becker.

They should have been punished for that when Townsend ran clear after latching onto a loose Trent Alexander-Arnold throw-in but the winger shot wide with only the goalkeeper to beat.

That was the wake-up call Klopp’s side needed as they began to build a head of steam with some slick passing moves but, as on many other occasions at home this season, the final touch was lacking.

Just as Alexander-Arnold whipped a free-kick just wide, news filtered through Leicester had taken the lead meaning Liverpool were in danger of missing out on Champions League football.

The mood was not helped by rookie centre-back Rhys Williams missing a sitter when, unmarked, he headed over from six yards.

Mohamed Salah, attempting to secure his third Golden Boot in four seasons, could not hit the target or beat Vicente Guaita from Thiago’s delicious pass.

Captain on the day Georginio Wijnaldum took the wrong option in passing to Mane, who curled wide, instead of shooting from Salah’s cut-back.

It looks to be the last time that accusation is levelled at Wijnaldum by Reds fans as in his pre-match interview the out-of-contract midfielder said no new deal had been agreed, while he was given a post-match guard of honour by his team.

Set-pieces have been Liverpool’s weakest area for some time in the absence of the injured Virgil Van Dijk but when it mattered most they made one count.

Williams atoned for his earlier error by flicking on Andy Robertson’s corner and Roberto Firmino’s half-control diverted the ball to Mane who poked home from close range, a goal which moved Liverpool into third place.

After Firmino’s header was tipped over early in the second half the hosts’ tempo dropped, as if they were aware of the situation elsewhere and were just trying to see out time.

It would have been a risky tactic had Palace not been so particularly disinclined to attack and, as a result, Liverpool were able to regain their foothold and deliver the finishing blow.

Fittingly it was started by Thiago, who has finished the season stronger than anyone, who intercepted inside his own penalty area to start a sweeping move which ended with Mane’s shot deflecting in off Gary Cahill.

The Golden Boot was obviously preying on Salah’s mind by then as twice he opted to shoot with team-mates better placed but on this occasion his selfishness could be forgiven by fans grateful just to celebrate a top-four finish which looked unlikely only a few weeks ago.

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LIVERPOOL WIN AT BURNLEY TO STAY IN CONTROL OF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE QUALIFICATION

Liverpool head into their final Premier League match exactly where they need to be with their Champions League destiny in their own hands after a 3-0 victory over Burnley lifted them back into the top four.

It was far from pretty – their encounters against the Clarets rarely are – but it was essential as the result put them ahead of Leicester on goal difference.

And with a four-goal cushion Jurgen Klopp’s side know if they match the Foxes’ result against Tottenham in their final home match of the season against Crystal Palace they will have pulled off an impressive comeback from two months ago when, for a time, any European football looked beyond them.

Even third place may be up for grabs should Chelsea stumble at Aston Villa, whose victory earlier in the evening had guaranteed Liverpool Europa League football at the very least.

But they were indebted to Roberto Firmino’s strike late in the first half, back-up central defender Nat Phillips’ first senior goal early in the second and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s first goal of the season to put a place among Europe’s elite back on the table.

Winning a fourth successive league match for the first time this season means they go into the final day as the Premier League’s most in-form team with 23 points from the last 27 available.

Back in January Burnley ended Liverpool’s 68-game unbeaten home league run with their first win at Anfield since 1974 but the visitors would have fancied their chances against goalkeeper Will Norris, making his Premier League debut for the club.

With Nick Pope failing to recover from a knee injury, Sean Dyche decided to drop Bailey Peacock-Farrell as he had conceded 14 in four league matches this season.

Norris’ only previous top-flight appearance was as an 89th-minute substitute for Wolves two years ago and he spent last season on loan at League One Ipswich but the visitors were criminally wasteful and he barely touched the ball never mind making a save.

Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Firmino all had early sight of goal, Mane’s miss the most embarrassing as he bundled wide from close range from Trent Alexander-Arnold’s cross.

Thiago Alcantara, the only Liverpool player seemingly not panicked by Burnley’s in-your-face approach, then joined the ranks of missed chances when his angled shot flew across the face of goal.

Salah (again), Alexander-Arnold and Phillips all shot over while Mane was blocked by the sliding James Tarkowski as the visitors racked up 11 shots without one on target.

Conversely, a Dwight McNeil drive had forced Alisson Becker to palm behind while Chris Wood fired into the side-netting after a long ball caught both Rhys Williams and Alisson in two minds.

The hosts had been so successful in disrupting the former champions’ rhythm that there was an air of desperation building right up until the moment Firmino struck two minutes before the break.

Andrew Robertson was again the provider with his low cut-back met first time by the Brazil international who in going past Fernando Torres’ club total of 65 became the first Liverpool player to score on three successive visits to Turf Moor.

One goal never seemed likely to be enough and Salah firing into the side-netting soon after the restart did little for the nerves and when the crucial second did come it was an unlikely source.

Phillips, so good in the air at the other end, rose highest to plant a header past Norris from Mane’s cross and then proved his worth under his own crossbar by heading Tarkowski’s effort of the line.

They avoided one or two anxious moments as Burnley stepped up the pressure before Oxlade-Chamberlain drilled home in the 89th minute to lift them back into the top four for the first time since February.

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EMOTIONAL ALISSON BECKER DEDICATES DRAMATIC GOAL TO HIS LATE FATHER

An emotional Alisson Becker fought back tears after the goalkeeper’s stoppage-time header clinched Liverpool’s dramatic 2-1 win at West Brom.

The Brazil international glanced Trent Alexander-Arnold’s corner past Sam Johnstone at the death to score a shock goal that moved the Reds to within a point of fourth-placed Chelsea with two Premier League games left.

Alisson dedicated his goal to his father, Jose Agostinho Becker, who drowned near his home in Brazil in February.

“I’m too emotional,” Alisson told Sky Sports. “This last month for everything that happened with me, with my family, but football is my life, the places, everything I remember as a human being.

“With my father, I hope he was here to see it, but I’m sure he was seeing, with God at his side, celebrating.”

Alisson, unable to return to Brazil following his father’s death due to the coronavirus pandemic, also said his goal was for his family and team-mates.

“What a fight,” Alisson said. “Sometimes we are fighting and fighting and things are just not happening like this afternoon here and just scoring this goal, I’m really happy to help them because we fight a lot together.

“We have a goal to achieve the Champions League because we won it once and everything started with the qualification, so I can’t be more happy than I am now.”

He joked it was the best goal he had scored, adding: “It was the perfect time. The cross was brilliant again. I just tried to put my head on the ball and I think it was one of the best goals I’ve scored!

“I’m really happy. I don’t have too many words, I just have to say thank you to the players because they fight a lot. We fight a lot.”

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GOALKEEPER ALISSON BECKER HEADS IN LATE WINNER AT WESTBROM AS LIVERPOOL STAY IN TOP FOUR HUNT

Goalkeeper Alisson Becker headed a dramatic stoppage-time winner at West Brom to keep Liverpool’s Champions League hopes alive.

Just as the Reds’ top-four chances looked virtually over, the Brazil international glanced in Trent Alexander-Arnold’s corner to clinch a 2-1 win.

He was mobbed by his team-mates after his shock goal moved Liverpool to within a point of fourth-placed Chelsea with two Premier League games left.

Mohamed Salah had earlier cancelled out Hal Robson-Kanu’s first top-flight goal for almost four years.

Roberto Firmino hit the post and Sadio Mane had a goal disallowed for offside as relegated Albion gave as good as they got.

Kyle Bartley saw his goal ruled out as the Baggies nearly caused an upset before Alisson’s late heroics.

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KLOPP TO HAVE A CONVERSATION WITH MANE AFTER HANDSHAKE SNUB

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has said he will speak to Sadio Mane to address the forward’s handshake snub following Thursday’s 4-2 win at Manchester United in which the player was dropped to the substitutes’ bench.

Mane was a 74th-minute substitute for Diogo Jota, who scored Liverpool’s opening goal at Old Trafford after being selected ahead of the former Southampton player.

Television cameras showed Mane rejecting a handshake from Klopp as the teams walked off the pitch at the end of the game, but despite admitting that it was an emotional reaction from the Senegal international, Klopp said he will not take issue with Mane.

“You cannot make a bigger story of it than it is,” Klopp told a news conference on Friday. “Football is an emotional game and everybody expects us to control our emotions, always.

“But it doesn’t always work out like that. It happened to me as a player, happened to other players when I was their coach.

“We have had, so far, no real chance to talk about it, but we will and there will be nothing left from it and everything will be fine.

“Do we want these things to happen? No. But it’s not the first time in my life and I’m afraid to say it, it probably won’t be the last time. So that’s it.”

Klopp said that his relationship with Mane has been built on respect, so one incident will not impact on that.

“If somebody shows me respect five million times, and one time not, what is more important?” Klopp added.

“The world is in a situation where you then make this one time bigger than necessary. That’s unfortunately the case.

“I am completely relaxed about it. If you had seen me as a player, what I did out of emotion, it was insane. And I am a completely normal guy.

“It happened to me, but there is nothing else — we will talk about it, it will be sorted and that’s all.”