Liverpool confirm four high-profile exits as Reds legends depart Anfield

James Milner, Roberto Firmino, Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain – all winners of both the Champions League and Premier League at Anfield – will leave the club when their contracts expire

Liverpool have confirmed that James Milner, Roberto Firmino, Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain will leave the club when their contracts expire at the end of the season.

The foursome, who were all with the club when the Reds won the Champions League, Premier League, FA Cup and League Cup, are leaving on a free transfer ahead of a busy summer transfer window at Merseyside. Together they played 965 games for Liverpool.

Milner and Firmino were the longer-serving of the pairing, both having joined the Reds in the summer of 2015 when Brendan Rodgers was still in charge.

Milner, 37, a former Leeds, Aston Villa, Newcastle and Manchester City midfielder, was Liverpool’s vice-captain under Jurgen Klopp and made 330 appearances for the Reds in various roles.

The veteran was seen as the epitome of professionalism during his time on Merseyside and is credited with helping to set the standards which saw the Reds win the Champions League in 2019 and the Premier League a year later.

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Firmino, who joined Hoffenheim in 2015, found his feet after Klopp was appointed as Rodgers’ successor and quickly became a key player for the Reds boss, using him in a bad role as a number 9 for implement his pressing game.

The striker, who is the most successful Brazilian in Premier League history, scored 109 goals in 360 appearances for the Reds and formed an impressive trio with Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah when the two joined the club in 2016 and 2017 respectively.

As well as scoring key goals on the road to Champions League and Premier League success, Firmino also scored in the semi-finals and finals of the Club World Cup as the Reds lifted the trophy for the first time. in December 2019.

Keita signed for Liverpool in the summer of 2017 on a pre-contractual agreement, then moved on to RB Leipzig a year later for a fee of £52.75m.

The Guinean midfielder arrived with a big reputation and was seen by many as the replacement for Philippe Coutinho, who joined Barcelona in January 2018 for £142m.

The 28-year-old had his impressive moments in a Liverpool shirt, but was frequently injured and is currently sidelined with 11 goals in 129 appearances for the Reds in his five seasons at the club.

Oxlade-Chamberlain joined Liverpool from Arsenal in the summer of 2017 and first impressed when he played a key role in Klopp’s side in the 2017/18 season as they reached the League final champions.

However, a serious knee injury in the semi-final win over Roma ruined his progress and saw him miss almost the entirety of the following campaign.

He did return to feature 30 times in the Premier League when the Reds won the division in 2019-20 but has largely been on the fringes of the side due to injury and lack of selection ever since. Oxlade-Chamberlain has played 146 times for Liverpool, scoring 18 goals.

The departures of all four players, particularly the midfielders, is set to herald a key summer of transfer activity for Klopp and Liverpool as they bid to return to the summit of the game at home and in Europe.

Also.. 

Why Liverpool would be eligible for the Champions League with a fifth-place result in light of an impending UEFA rule change Ryan

Beginning with the 2024–25 season, the Champions League will be restructured, which might have a significant effect on Liverpool and other English clubs.

With the conventional group stage eliminated, the competition will grow from 32 clubs to 36 under the contentious model.

Instead, each of the 36 qualifying clubs will play eight games, four of which will be at home and four on the road.

The teams who place first through eighth in the new league stage will automatically advance to the round of 16. The remaining eight clubs participating in the last 16 will be decided by a two-legged play-off between teams in ninth through 24th place.

The surviving teams then compete to win the Champions League trophy in the knockout stage, which continues with the same rules as the present format.

In addition to the new format, UEFA is also planning to make another key adjustment that might have a big influence on English clubs.

Using UEFA’s co-efficient mechanism, additional Champions League spots will be given to the two European nations with the greatest records from the previous campaign.

Additionally, the country that came in fifth place in UEFA’s standings receives an additional spot.

Due to their clubs’ good performances during the current 2022–23 season, England and Italy would each receive an additional Champions League spot if the new regulations were implemented for the following season.

Therefore, Liverpool, which presently holds the fifth-place finish in the Premier League, would be given a slot in the competition even if they did not finish in the top four in England.

The extra berth will only be awarded in time for the start of the new structure, which is unfortunate for the Reds or whichever club finishes fifth this season.

But as long as English clubs continue to do well in Europe, it is unquestionably a backup plan for clubs that are unable to get in the top four.

Liverpool is making a late push to finish ahead of Manchester United and qualify for the Champions League.

The Premier League has seen five straight victories for Jurgen Klopp’s team, putting them in prime position to contend for a top-four spot.

The Red Devils were defeated by Brighton on Thursday night, but a late Alexis Mac Allister penalty gave Liverpool’s chances a boost.

With a game remaining, United currently leads Liverpool by four points.

Here are the outcomes required for Liverpool to pass United as the Premier League race enters its last lap.

If Liverpool defeats Brentford at Anfield this Saturday, they will be within one point of United. The difference would just be one point, but Erik ten Hag’s team would hold a game in hand if West Ham defeated the Red Devils on Sunday.

Next weekend, United is anticipated to defeat Wolves, and Liverpool is anticipated to defeat relegation-dangerous Leicester. Consequently, as we get to the final three games, the deficit remains at one point.

If United draws against Bournemouth on Saturday, May 20, and Liverpool defeats Aston Villa, Klopp’s team will finish the weekend in fourth place, but Ten Hag’s team will have played one more match.

As the last weekend approaches, United wins its game-in-hand against Chelsea on Thursday, May 25, moving up to fourth place with a two-point lead over Liverpool.

Liverpool defeats Southampton on the final weekend of the Premier League, but Fulham holds United at home.

If it occurs, Liverpool and United will both have 71 points at the end of the season, but Liverpool will place fourth because of their far better goal difference.

Even while it seems impossible, weirder things have occurred in football.

With two games left to play, Brighton still has a chance to influence the outcome of the remaining games since they are presently only four points behind Liverpool.

Whom do you anticipate will place among the top four? Please tell us in the comments.

Due to concerns about it being held in Istanbul, UEFA initiated discussions with a different location and may shift the Champions League final for a fourth consecutive year.

Inter Milan beat their local rivals AC Milan 2-0 on Wednesday night, narrowly missing out on a larger margin as they advanced to the final on June 10.

Real Madrid and Manchester City battled to a thrilling 1-1 tie on the other side of the draw, with goals from Kevin de Bruyne and Vinicius Junior.

But as of right moment, neither of those teams is certain that they will go to Turkey to play in the game at the Ataturk Stadium.

Due to Covid difficulties, the final was originally scheduled to take place in Istanbul in 2020 and 2021, but Portugal ended up hosting both years instead.

The final was originally scheduled to take place in St. Petersburg last year, but due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which resulted in a ban from UEFA tournaments, the organization had to transfer it to Paris, which was almost disastrous.

The main concern this year is the possibility of political instability in Turkey if President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s nine-year tenure ends with the election later this month.

While there is a desire to maintain the championship at the Ataturk, the Daily Mail reported that negotiations with the Portuguese Football Association have already started, with Lisbon as the suggested location if anything needs to change.

The first round of voting in the presidential election will take place on Sunday, and a poll taken earlier in the week indicated that Erdogan was trailing primary rival Kemal Kilicdaroglu by 5%.

It is predicted that the three-horse race would most likely end on May 28 with a vote between the two leading contenders.

Only a few weeks would pass before the match, so UEFA would have to wait to see whether there are any problems in the nation before making a hasty choice.

The finals for the following two seasons have already been decided, with Wembley poised to serve as host once more in 2024 after hosting the finals in 2011 and 2013.

After that, Germany will host the 2025 Euros at the Allianz Arena in Munich, and Allianz will host a lot of games.

Istanbul might have to wait until 2026 to see the final, which would be six years longer than originally planned.

According to recent rumors, Qatari investors may need to ask UEFA for a regulation change in order to effectively complete a takeover of Manchester United.

Investors were expected to make a proposal for United in the coming days, according to a report in The Daily Mail on Tuesday. Investors were convinced that the scale of any bid would easily defeat any rival offers.

Even though it’s claimed that other interested parties have contacted United’s owners, the Glazer family, regarding the bidding process, only Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s Ineos company has officially declared their intention to participate.

The Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamin bin Hamad al-Thani, is allegedly the driving force behind a potential Qatari bid, according to The Guardian.

In 2011, the Qatari royal family reportedly tried to buy United, but they reportedly couldn’t afford the Glazers’ £1.8 billion asking price at the time.

Now, it’s claimed that more obstacles could stand in the way of a successful takeover.

Qatar’s Man Utd offer may be subject to UEFA regulatory changes.

The Guardian has also stated that in order to complete a buyout, Qatar may need to ask UEFA to modify its ownership rules.

According to current regulations, clubs controlled by the same entity cannot compete against one another in the same competition, whether directly or indirectly.

PSG is now owned by the Emir through Qatar Sports Investments (QSi), who took sole ownership of the club in 2012. If United were to acquire PSG, the French powerhouses would not be permitted to compete against United in the Champions League or any other UEFA-run competition. The Qatari owners would probably have to decide between playing with United or PSG in the premier continental league if the rule is not changed.

Additionally, it is asserted that the Emir values United below what the Glazers are asking for, which might be another roadblock in any negotiations.

Although it has been indicated that those behind a Qatari bid are ‘aware’ of the existing rules in place, it is unknown at this time if UEFA would consent to such a rule change.

Any successful takeover would put an end to the Glazers’ nearly 18-year rule over the club after Malcolm Glazer acquired a controlling stake and then entire ownership in May 2005.

A proposed UEFA rule change that Jose Mourinho seeks would have a significant impact on both the Champions League and the Europa League.

Jose Manager, a Portuguese manager, thinks the existing structure of UEFA club championships is unfair and seeks a significant regulation change.

Following a 2-0 overall victory over Real Sociedad on Thursday night, Mourinho led his Roma team into the Europa League quarterfinals.

Due to goals from Stephan El Shaarawy and Marash Kumbulla, the Giallorossi defeated the Basque team 2-0 in the Stadio Olimpico in the first leg and endured a scoreless stalemate in San Sebastian.

Mourinho is attempting to win UEFA’s secondary competition for the second time following a victory with Manchester United. Last season, Mourinho led Roma to an inaugural and historic Europa Conference League victory.

However, he is not a fan of the Champions League teams’ ability to compete in the Europa League.

Eight of the groups’ third-place teams were automatically advanced to the Europa League’s round of 16 knockout stage.

The third-place teams in Europa League groups also receive a second chance in the Conference League, therefore the same rules apply to them.

However, two-time Champions League champion Mourinho poked fun at rival Lazio by saying that teams that have been eliminated shouldn’t be given another chance.

According to the Daily Mail, he said, speaking to Sky Sport Italia, “There are teams there who in my opinion should not be there.”

“They should return home if they lose a competition!

Therefore, if a team that was eliminated from the Champions League wins the Europa League, it will have no significance to me.

“The Europa League should be reserved for the teams that endured the entire process. Lazio isn’t participating in a third competition, after all. That is how things ought to be.

After playing Champions League football to start the season, Juventus, Sevilla, Bayer Leverkusen, and Sporting Lisbon are all in the quarterfinals of the Europa League.

Feyenoord, who Roma defeated in the Europa Conference League championship game last year, was drawn.