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Earlier in the week, former Liverpool defender Mamadou Sakho won a libel suit against WADA, concerning his 2016 doping case. The case cost Sakho dearly. He missed the Europa League final, and missed playing in the 2016 Euros, hosted by his nation, France, no less. It was also the beginning of the end for his Liverpool career, although there were other factors than the doping allegations.
Regardless of the publicly tense relationship between Sakho and Klopp, the Liverpool manager is happy for his former player.
“My initial thought was ‘finally!’” the Liverpool boss said. “We knew for a long time already that Mama did nothing wrong. It was a massive blow. I’m really happy that he got at least now the evidence that he did nothing wrong.
“Doping is a problem, yes. But I never really saw it as a problem in football because I’m 30 years in it and never was in contact with any kind of it.
“And if there is, it’s because somebody made a silly decision, not because they wanted to improve his recovery time or whatever.
“If you carry around the mark that you did doping, especially when you didn’t do it, that’s massive. So I’m really happy he’s freed of all of these things.”
These are nice words from Klopp, especially considering the way Sakho was shown the door quickly after the boss’s arrival to the club. It was necessary for Klopp to build team that he desired, but clearly he doesn’t wish harm on the player.
Despite the missed opportunities for Sakho, it seems like he’s ended up in a good situation at Crystal Palace, and it’s nice that he finally got some official recognition for what happened to him.