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Liverpool FC boss Jurgen Klopp delivers Champions League transfer warning to any wantaway stars

 (POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
(POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Jurgen Klopp has warned Liverpool stars thinking about leaving the club if they do not qualify for Champions League football that they will look to sell them.

Liverpool cantered to the Premier League title last season but have endured a miserable title defence, with the Reds currently sitting seventh in the table, 22 points behind leaders Manchester City ahead of Sunday’s match against Fulham.

Catching City will be almost impossible now, while Champions League qualification could also be difficult given Liverpool sit four points off fourth-placed Chelsea and have lost their last five League home games in a row for the first time in the club's 129-year history.

After spending eight of 10 seasons in the Champions League from the 2001-02 season, they spent six campaigns from 2010-11 either in the Europa League or out of Europe completely - though winning the European Cup this season would see them automatically qualify for next season's competition.

But should Liverpool miss out on the Champions League for next season, Klopp has spelled out that if any of his squad would consider leaving Anfield, he will help them on their way out the door.

Klopp is confident his squad will show “loyalty”POOL/AFP via Getty Images
Klopp is confident his squad will show “loyalty”POOL/AFP via Getty Images

"I know we have loyalty from the players," Klopp said. "It is not a situation where a player in the squad says, 'We are not in the Champions League so I have to leave'. That will not happen. I know them well enough to know that.

"The club is in a different situation and it will not be an issue with new players, I can say that.

"We said it years back if a player does not want to come to us because we don't play Champions League next season then I don't want him.

"And if a player wants to leave because we don't play Champions League then I don't want him. It is not a personal thing, but it is always like this.

"You always need to find the right squad for the challenges you face. Then you go for it. It is nothing I worry about."

Additional reporting by PA.

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