Cody Gakpo says summer was 'very tough' after Manchester City transfer collapsed
Cody Gakpo said on Thursday he had endured a "very tough" summer after a proposed move to Manchester City collapsed, after he scored a stoppage-time equaliser to earn the Netherlands a 1-1 Nations League draw with Germany. Germany are coached by his former club manager Jürgen Klopp.
Gakpo revealed Liverpool changed their minds about allowing him to join their top-flight rivals and the transfer did not materialise. Earlier in the summer he and his partner, Noa van der Bij, announced their second son had died during pregnancy in June. He said those events made the period difficult for him and his family.
Asked whether he thought he was going to leave Liverpool, Gakpo said: "It was a difficult summer for me, and my family, and everything surrounding football and life. I just let it come, and it ended how it ended." When it was suggested Liverpool had been willing to let him go before reversing that decision, he replied: "Spot-on."
Gakpo expanded on his approach to events beyond his control, saying: "I cannot choose. So then I have to just try to do what I’m good at, and that’s playing football. I can be very worried about everything that could happen, or that didn’t happen, or whatever, but that wouldn’t help the situation. "It’s a very long story. The summer was very tough regarding everything. So I just let everything be and see how it came and it worked out in this way."
The forward has not sulked since the City move broke down, scoring in Liverpool’s opening-weekend draw against Newcastle and in their Carabao Cup win over Spurs, and he has recorded five assists. On his mindset he said: "It’s not about my character. I’m now at the point that I don’t mind, I just want to enjoy football with my friends, with my teammates. I want to enjoy my life and whatever happens, happens. If I have no control over the situation, I will not worry. So I just do my job with that."
Gakpo accepted he could improve on last season, admitting he "could do much better than I did last year" in a disappointing campaign for Liverpool that ended with the departure of Arne Slot.
Virgil van Dijk, his national-team captain and Anfield teammate, praised Gakpo after the last-gasp volley, saying: "If people didn’t appreciate Cody before, personally I don’t understand it. But I think it was a no-brainer for us as a team and a club to keep him. There were talks but, in my eyes, you can’t let him go and that’s why I said it. He is a friend as well. Ours, please – let’s keep it that way."
The stoppage-time leveller continues a bright start to the season for Gakpo. He had been an £80m target for City in August before talks stalled.