Five Years On: How the 2019 Champions League Final Squad Has Changed
It has been five years since Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool side won the 2019 Champions League final, and a lot has changed since then. Of the 24-man squad that Klopp named for the final, only eight remain at the club today. It is clear that a rebuild has been desperately needed at Anfield and the changes, albeit slowly, that have been made over the last five years become abundantly clear when one looks at the 2019 Champions League final squad.
The Last Eight Standing
The eight remaining members of the squad are predominantly members of the defence. Alisson, Caoimhin Kelleher, Joel Matip, Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Andy Robertson and Mohamed Salah are the last remaining members from the team that brought No. 6 back to Liverpool.
The Departed 16: Where Are They Now?
The other 16 have moved on in the years since that day in Madrid. Simon Mignolet left in 2019 and is now at Club Brugge, Alberto Moreno left in 2019 and is now at Villarreal, Daniel Sturridge left in 2019 and is currently without a club, Dejan Lovren left in 2020 and is now at Lyon, Adam Lallana left in 2020 and is now at Brighton, Rhian Brewster left in 2020 and is now at Sheffield United, Gini Wijnaldum left in 2021 and is now at PSG, Xherdan Shaqiri left in 2021 and is now at Chicago Fire, Divock Origi left in 2022 and is now at AC Milan, Sadio Mane left in 2022 and is now at Al Nassr, Fabinho left in 2023 and is now at Al Ittihad, Jordan Henderson left in 2023 and is now at Al Ettifaq, James Milner left in 2023 and is now at Brighton, Naby Keita left in 2023 and is now at Werder Bremen and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain left in 2023 with his destination yet to be confirmed.
The Rebuild
The rebuild at Anfield has not been overnight, far from it, and the first-choice defence, with the exception of Ibrahima Konate, remains firmly in tact at Anfield since that day in Madrid. What has undergone surgery is the midfield and the attack. The former is still a work in progress but the arrivals of Cody Gakpo, Luis Diaz, Diogo Jota and Darwin Nunez represent a new era up front.
Looking Ahead
With a season out of the Champions League, it will be intriguing to see what the next European-Cup winning squad looks like – hopefully, we won’t have to wait long to find out!
It has been five years since Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool side won the 2019 Champions League final and it is clear that a rebuild has been desperately needed at Anfield. Of the 24-man squad that Klopp named for the final, only eight remain at the club today. The other 16 have moved on in the years since that day in Madrid. The rebuild at Anfield has not been overnight and the first-choice defence remains firmly in tact at Anfield since that day in Madrid. What has undergone surgery is the midfield and the attack, with new arrivals representing a new era up front. With a season out of the Champions League, it will be intriguing to see what the next European-Cup winning squad looks like – hopefully, we won’t have to wait long to find out!