- By Mandeep Sanghera and Timothy Abraham
- ` Sport
January 26, 2024, 10:44 GMT
Updated 12 minutes ago
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Jürgen Klopp has won six major trophies with Liverpool, including the Premier League and the Champions League
Liverpool coach Jürgen Klopp will step down from his post at the end of the season because he is “running out of energy”.
Klopp was appointed in October 2015 and his contract was due to run until 2026.
He won the Champions League in 2019 before leading Liverpool to their first league title in 30 years in 2019/20.
“I told the club back in November,” said 56-year-old Klopp, who announced his decision with his side at the top of the Premier League.
“I can understand that it's a shock for a lot of people at this moment when you hear it for the first time, but of course I can explain it – or at least try to explain it.”
“I love absolutely everything about this club, I love everything about the city, I love everything about our fans, I love the team, I love the staff. I love everything. But the fact that I'm making this decision anyway shows that I'm convinced.” It's what I have to take.
“It's like, how shall I put it, I'm running out of energy. I don't have a problem now, of course I've known for a while that I'll have to announce it at some point, but I'm completely fine now.” I know I can't do the job over and over again.
Klopp's key stats
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Klopp's record in Liverpool |
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- Klopp's win rate of 60.7% in all competitions is the highest of any Liverpool manager with more than 50 games in charge of the club
- Since Klopp's arrival, Liverpool's 671 Premier League points are second only to Manchester City's 716. Tottenham are third with 583
- Klopp shares the longest winning streak in the Premier League – with Guardiola's City – with 18 consecutive wins between October 2019 and February 2020
- He has the second-longest Premier League unbeaten streak at 44 games between January 2019 and February 2020, second only to Arsene Wenger's Arsenal between May 2003 and October 2004
“I will never manage another club in England”
Klopp is the only Liverpool manager to have won the league title, European Cup/Champions League, FA Cup and EFL Cup with the Reds.
He led Liverpool to their sixth European Cup in 2019 when they beat Tottenham in the Champions League final in Madrid.
In the 2019/20 season they won the UEFA Super Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup and, most importantly, won the Premier League title.
Liverpool won a domestic cup double in the 2021/22 season and narrowly missed out on the quadruple as they were beaten by Manchester City on the final day of the Premier League season and lost the Champions League final in Paris against Real Madrid .
The Reds failed to win any major silverware last season but are in the running for four trophies this season. On Wednesday they beat Fulham to reach the Carabao Cup final.
“It didn’t start [then], but of course last season was a very difficult season and there were moments where at other clubs you would probably have made the decision: “Come on, thanks for everything, but we should probably part ways here or end it here.” .' “Of course that didn’t happen here,” Klopp added.
“It was super, super, super important to me that I could help get this team back on its feet. That was all I was thinking about.”
“When I realized pretty early on that this was happening, that it was a really good team with huge potential and a great age group, great characters and all that, I was able to think about myself again and this was the result. That’s not what I want.” [do]it is exactly what I think it is 100%.
Liverpool assistant coaches Pepijn Lijnders and Peter Krawietz, as well as elite development coach Vitor Matos, will leave the club along with Klopp.
Sporting director Jörg Schmadtke will leave the club at the end of the January transfer window after being appointed in June.
Not only are Liverpool at the top of the Premier League and in the EFL Cup final, but they also host Norwich City in the fourth round of the FA Cup on Sunday and are in the round of 16 of the Europa League.
“Let’s get everything we can from this season and have another reason to smile when we look back on the future,” Klopp said.
“If you ask me, 'Will you ever work as a manager again?' “I would say no now,” Klopp added.
“But of course I don’t know how it will feel because I’ve never had this situation.
“What I know for sure: I will never manage any club other than Liverpool in England, 100 percent. This is not possible.”
“A heavy blow” – reaction to Klopp’s departure
Mike Gordon, president of Liverpool owners Fenway Sports Group, described Klopp's appointment as “one of the greatest blessings of our time as owner”.
“First and foremost on behalf of [principal owner] John Henry and [FSG chairman] “Tom Werner, I would like to express our deep appreciation to Jürgen,” said Gordon.
“It goes without saying that we will be very sad to lose not only a manager of this caliber, but also a person and leader for whom we feel enormous respect, gratitude and affection.”
“At the same time, we fully respect his wishes and the reasons why he has decided that the current season will be his last at Liverpool.”
Former Liverpool defender and Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher posted on social media: “This news was always a huge blow to the club whenever it came. I just thought it would take a few more years. What a manager, what a man.”, let’s go out with a bang, Jürgen!”
Who's next for Liverpool?
The fact that Klopp informed the club of his intention to resign in November suggests that preparations to find his successor have likely already begun.
Former Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso, who played for the Reds from 2004 to 2009, is apparently the first favorite to succeed Klopp.
The Spaniard manages German club Bayer Leverkusen, who are four points ahead of Bayern Munich at the top of the Bundesliga and have not lost a single league game this season.
Alonso said ahead of his team's game against Borussia Mönchengladbach on Saturday that he was “surprised” by Klopp's decision but had “great respect and admiration” for “what he has achieved and how he achieved it”. Regarding his own future, Alonso added: “I’m really happy here. I enjoy my work here. I feel like every day and every game is a challenge.”
“We are on an intense, beautiful journey here in Leverkusen and I'm trying to do my best to help my players be ready for the next thing, that's my goal. What's coming? I don't know it.”
“To be honest, I’m not thinking about the next thing at this moment. I think about where I am right now. I'm in a great place. I enjoy it.” [it]. It's the right place, that's all I can say.
“I don’t know what will happen in the future. I don’t really care at the moment.”
Germany head coach Julian Nagelsmann has a contract until the end of this summer's European Championships, while Brighton head coach Roberto de Zerbi and Tottenham's Ange Postecoglou are prominent names with bookmakers.
Regarding Lijnders, Liverpool said the Dutchman would leave Anfield “to pursue his own career as a manager”.
Klopp timeline in Liverpool
- October 8, 2015 – Klopp is appointed Liverpool manager
- May 18, 2016 – Liverpool loses 3-1 to Sevilla in the Europa League final
- January 1, 2018 – Virgil van Dijk moves from Southampton for £75 million, a record transfer fee for a defender at the time
- January 6, 2018 – Philippe Coutinho joins Barcelona in an initial £105m deal, rising to a potential £142m. This helps the club pay Van Dijk and eventually buy players like Alisson and Fabinho
- May 26, 2018 – Liverpool loses 3-1 to Real Madrid in the Champions League final in Kiev, Ukraine
- May 7, 2019 – Liverpool reach the Champions League final for the second year in a row by overcoming a 3-0 semi-final first leg deficit against Barcelona with a 4-0 win in the second leg at Anfield
- June 1, 2019 – Liverpool beat Tottenham 2-0 in the Champions League final in Madrid to win the club's sixth European Cup
- August 14, 2019 – Liverpool beat Chelsea 5-4 on penalties after a 2-2 draw to win the UEFA Super Cup
- December 21, 2019 – Liverpool beat Flamengo 1-0 to win the Club World Cup
- June 25, 2020 – Liverpool win their 19th league title and first Premier League, ending the season with a club record 99 points
- February 27, 2022 – Liverpool beat Chelsea 11-10 on penalties after a 0-0 draw in the EFL Cup final
- April 28, 2022 – Klopp extends Liverpool contract until 2026
- May 14, 2022 – Liverpool beat Chelsea 6-5 on penalties after a 0-0 draw in the FA Cup final
- May 28, 2022 – Liverpool loses 1-0 to Real Madrid in the Champions League final in Paris
- March 5, 2023 – Liverpool beat Manchester United 7-0 in the Premier League at Anfield
- January 26, 2024 – Klopp announces he will step down at the end of the 2023/24 season
analysis
Phil McNulty, Chief Football Writer at ` Sport
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Klopp's Liverpool legacy is linked to club greats – McNulty
Jurgen Klopp's announcement that he will leave Liverpool at the end of the season will leave the club's fans heartbroken and send shockwaves far beyond Anfield.
The charismatic German's strong personality and achievements have given him iconic status at Liverpool, the club he has transformed since his appointment in October 2015. Klopp can easily be on the list of great Anfield managers.
The news came like a bolt from the blue, especially after he signed a contract extension until 2026 as a sign of his commitment to Liverpool.
And it's all the more astonishing when you consider how Klopp has so brilliantly rebuilt – or in his words 'reloaded' – Liverpool this season that they are top of the Premier League and in the hunt for four trophies, in the EFL Cup -Final against Chelsea with a fourth The FA Cup first round home game against Norwich City on Sunday at Anfield will certainly be an emotional game and is also the Europa League favorites.
Klopp's actions will be the hardest to follow, not just because of his bond with Liverpool fans, but also because of the skills that make him one of football's greatest coaches, having brought the Champions League back to Liverpool in 2019 and their first title in 30 years 12 months later.
In the meantime, however, the game still has to come to terms with the bombshell news that Klopp is on his way to leaving Liverpool.
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