Jurgen Klopp stepped in to offer Liverpool debut to young star who cried at Barcelona

Jurgen Klopp gave Sergi Canos his Premier League debut in 2016 (Image: Getty Images)

After attending Barcelona’s renowned La Masia academy, Sergi Canos joined Liverpool as a teenager. He believes his time in England helped shape him into the player he is today.

One of the first players Jurgen Klopp gave a Liverpool debut to was Sergi Canos, but the winger had to go through some difficult times while playing for Barcelona before making that breakthrough.

When Klopp replaced Brendan Rodgers midway through the 2015–16 season, Canos was on loan at Brentford. However, he returned to his parent club ahead of their season finale against West Brom, where the German manager gave him a late start. His only Premier League appearance in Liverpool colors would turn out to be that one. However, he would return to the league with Brentford years later and score in a memorable victory over Arsenal.

Canos, who is now 26 years old, left Brentford for Valencia during the summer and is now back in Spain. He believes that his time in England aided in his growth as a player. That’s a long way from the difficulties he faced when he was a teenager and moved away from home to attend Barcelona’s academy.

He acknowledged crying when he spoke to his father on the phone in those early La Masia days, but he persisted and eventually joined Liverpool at the age of 16. The well-traveled star has opened up about how his time in England prepared him for his career after those challenging early days ahead of Los Che’s trip to Cadiz on Sunday.

Canos stated in the most recent LALIGA Talks podcast, which was released on Thursday, “I was 13 years old when I started with Barça.” “I was not good enough to be with the players at Barça, so after the first two training sessions, I called my dad in tears and begged him to come get me.

“He didn’t show up to get me. He made a wise decision by leaving me there. He was aware that I had to get out of that predicament.

“I think if you don’t face bad situations and you don’t overcome those situations, it’s hard,” he said. “He consistently claimed to be considering other things as well.

“At 13 years old, he didn’t want me to play football. I was worthy to be there at that precise moment, so he wanted me to maintain my composure and get through that situation.”

Sergi Canos was handed his Premier League debut by Jurgen Klopp in 2016 ( Image: Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)

Canos has played the majority of his career for Brentford, making over 250 senior appearances in two stints with the London team. After playing fewer games under Thomas Frank the previous season and spending the second half of the campaign on loan at Olympiacos, he returned to Spain after making 36 Premier League appearances, scoring three goals.

When Canos appeared on LALIGA Talks, which features interviews with current players, pundits, and special guests every two weeks, he was questioned regarding the distinctions between Spanish and English football setups. He’s already made an impact for Valencia, having equalized in a Copa del Rey match at Cartagena to save Ruben Baraja’s team from an upset and scoring the game-winning goal against Rayo Vallecano in the league.

“I was lucky, as I said, that I was at FC Barcelona for three years then I went to Liverpool,” Canos said. “I would say that because I was raised in England, my style of football is more like that, but I will really enjoy LALIGA because I spent three years at Barça.

“I believe that participating in the Championship for five years was the most challenging experience. I believe those five years shaped me into the player I am now.

“Playing in the Championship is not simple. Additionally, everyone who has participated in the division is aware of its nature.

“I believe that playing in this league with so many games is really tough and competitive. It is a division where many teams could play in the Premier League. Just right, in my perspective. And those five years helped shape me into the player I am today.”

Canos is now back in Spain with Valencia after several years at Brentford ( Image: Omar Arnau/REX/Shutterstock)

This season, Liverpool manager Klopp has kept faith with youth, as he did with players like Canos in 2015–16. While Luke Chambers, Callum Scanlon, and Kaide Gordon made their Europa League debuts during the team’s ascent to the top of the group stage, Jarell Quansah and James McConnell made their Premier League debuts this season.

After Klopp gave him his debut against Toulouse, Chambers told club media, “[The manager] just said to enjoy it. He said there was no pressure, just go out and play how I usually play.”

Opportunities are what you aspire to as a young player. I’m craving more, so maybe there will be more.

Canos was one of those kids who was thrown into the deep end once. After eight years, he is even more improved.