Agbonlahor labels Klopp 'petulant child’

Nigerian- born Aston Villa legend Gabby Agbonlahor has reignited his feud with Jurgen Klopp by labelling the Liverpool boss a 'petulant child' for his criticism of ex-Reds midfielder Didi Hamann. 

Speaking prior to Liverpool's Champions League match against Rangers on Wednesday night, Klopp sarcastically hit back at Hamann after he claimed his fellow German's days as Anfield boss are numbered. 

Now Agbonlahor has had his say, claiming that Klopp's sarcastic jibe is proof he is 'losing it' and 'cracking under the pressure.' 

'I thought Jurgen Klopp was like a petulant child,' Agbonlahor told talkSPORT Breakfast. 

'Didi Hamann won the Champions League for Liverpool, had a fantastic career. If he can't talk about Liverpool then who can?

'Is it only Robbie Fowler, Ian Rush, Steven Gerrard, is it only certain players who can talk about Liverpool?

'I think he's losing his spark a bit Jurgen Klopp, he's cracking under the pressure.'

There has been a degree of animosity between Klopp and Agbonlahor since they publicly clashed back in August before Liverpool's defeat by Manchester United. 

Agbonlahor was critical of United after their humiliating 4-0 defeat by Brentford and said: ‘If I was them now after this game I’d be thinking, “You know what, Ten Hag, just pack up”. He’s had pre-season and they have started the season as a shambles, they’re like strangers on the pitch.’ 

But Klopp reminded Agbonlahor he was in the Villa team beaten 6-0 by Liverpool at Villa Park in February 2016 and questioned his mentality that day — he was substituted after 58 minutes and Villa were relegated at the end of the season. 

‘What he said about United, I was close to calling in and telling him, “you have forgotten completely that you have been a player”,’ said Klopp.

‘He lost against us 6-0 in my first year (at Liverpool). I couldn’t remember him as a “mentality monster” on the pitch. It was unbelievable (what he said). If ex-players are going already like this, you can imagine how everything else is going.’ 

Agbonlahor responded to Klopp’s remarks by tweeting a picture of when he scored the only goal in Villa’s 1-0 win at Anfield in September 2014. 

And the former Aston Villa striker has since been undeterred from critiquing the Liverpool boss and his decision to take off star man Mohamed Salah in Liverpool's 3-2 loss to Arsenal at the weekend has been questioned. 

'You can't keep making wrong decisions like he's doing at the moment,' he added. 

'Snapping at the media? It was a perfectly honest question if they need a spark. Whether it's Henderson getting a goal, Thiago creating an opportunity or Salah getting back to the Salah before his contract.'

On the Hamann criticism, Agbonlahor continued: 'That's a harmless thing for Hamann to say, but for him [Klopp] to hit out as Hamann as a nobody… even when he had a go at me talking about a total different team, I think he's losing it. 

'He needs to work on his team playing good football.'

Hamann's criticism of Klopp became a key talking point during the German manager's pre-Rangers press conference. 

'I think at some point we are going to have that discussion about the manager and I'm not sure how far we are from that,' Hamann said.

That remark was then relayed to Klopp, much to his bemusement.  

Asked if Liverpool needed a spark, Klopp responded: 'Who said that? Didi Hamann? Oh great. A fantastic source, well respected everywhere.'

Klopp then added: 'That (being a former Liverpool player) does not give you the right to say what you want, especially when you have no idea. 

'I actually think Didi Hamann does not deserve that you use his phrase to ask a question. Try to ask without using the word spark.'