Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain questions Liverpool's handling of summer exit
- Oxlade-Chamberlain left Liverpool on a free transfer this summer
- Midfielder had spent six years at Anfield before being released
- Besiktas signed 30-year-old to a three-year contract
By Tom Gott
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has revealed his disappointment at the manner of his departure from Liverpool, revealing he was never officially told he would be getting released until the end of the season.
The 30-year-old saw his six-year spell at Anfield brought to an end this summer when he was not offered a new contract, and despite interest from Saudi Arabia, he ultimately took his talents to Turkish side Besiktas.
Having played just over 300 Premier League minutes across the 2022/23 season, Oxlade-Chamberlain's release did not come as a surprise but the midfielder told The Athletic that he was left to figure it out alone.
"I was out of the squad for the majority of the rest of the season, training with the team, then on matchdays training on my own," he began. "I carried on, kept my head down and did everything to make sure I was ready, but ultimately the manager was going in a different direction that was sort of out of my control.
"Some of the younger players were getting an opportunity to be involved, getting them ready for years to come, which I understand. I just guess you want that communicated to you because you start going out of your mind thinking, 'What more can I do here?'. And it was never really written off that you’re not getting offered a new contract."
He added: "[The decision] was never said. "I obviously got the picture. I got told before they released the statement: 'Just so you know, we’re putting this out about you, Milly [James Milner], Bobby [Roberto Firmino] and Naby [Keita] leaving'. And I was like, 'Oh, OK. Thanks'. But there was nothing official at any point before. It was just... the silence was enough to know what the situation was."
Despite the nature of his departure, Oxlade-Chamberlain was full of praise for manager Jurgen Klopp and insisted he did not hold a grudge against Liverpool.
"The longer I play the game, the more I realise you’re just an entity in the grand scheme of a business really," he conceded. "There will be many more after us and there were many more before, people who have had great experiences.
"I had great, great times at Liverpool. I couldn’t say anything bad about my time there. I wouldn’t even say it ended badly. At the end of the day, the club is bigger than any one player. Sometimes there’s bigger fish to fry."
Oxlade-Chamberlain managed 146 appearances for Liverpool across six seasons, scoring 18 goals and contributing 15 assists before bidding farewell this summer.
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