Jurgen Klopp has revealed that Mamadou Sakho was sent home from Liverpool’s pre-season tour for continually flouting club rules.
Sakho found himself expelled from the Reds’ trip to the United States amid concerns about his attitude in and around their training camp in California.
Klopp previously alluded to the France international’s failure to report for Liverpool’s flight to the US on time and has revealed that he also made further breaches on tour.
The defender, recently cleared by UEFA of doping offences, also arrived late for a team meal and missed a session of treatment on his current Achilles problem.
“I have to build a group here, we have to start new here,” said Klopp.
“I thought maybe it made sense for him to fly home to Liverpool and after eight or 10 days when we come back we can talk about it. It’s not that serious.
“He nearly missed the departure of the plane, he missed a session and was late for a meal.
“We have some rules and we have to respect them. If somebody doesn’t respect it or somebody gives me the feeling he is not respecting it then I have to react.
“It is private how he reacted, but we had no argument. I spoke. You cannot argue when only one person is speaking. That’s all.
“I think missed a session is missed a session – even injured players have sessions.”