Colin Sheridan: Klopp, like all the rest, let us down in the end

The former Liverpool manager's announcement as Head of Global something at Red Bull was like hearing Greta Thunberg was gone to Shell as a consultant.

BACK TO WORK: Former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has been named as Red Bull’s global head of soccer. Pic: Peter Byrne/PA Wire

For what died the sons of Róisín? It seems that every principled stand taken by a high-profile sports person these last few years has been at worst a ruse, contrived to lure us into thinking more of them then they deserved, or at best, a fleeting moment of moral clarity. Rory McIlroy. Jurgen Klopp. Pep. Literally every intercounty manager who swore he’d never manage another team. We are living in a time of devalued values, when a person's word is worth little more than a tweet on a screen.

Before you turn the page, let me assure you this is not another rant on how Big Sport has abandoned the great moral question of our time in Palestine. No, there are other pages for that and fill them I shall. This lament is much more petty and parochial in its tone. This is personal. Declan Rice levels of badge kissing is where I’m at. I realise now, the stage of life I’m at, I am a Jack Grealish man. I want my sport stars to bang one in and celebrate like it’s the last goal they’ll ever score. I want them to remember how bad we tried to make them feel. How we tried to guilt them into doing what was right for us. The Grealish way is simply a more honest way to live. Imperfect, yes, but honest. Every time I feel something for someone, they inevitably let me down.