MANCHESTER, England —
Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp took a deep breath and looked at the camera before saying the phrase that would shock the football world on Friday.
“I will leave the club at the end of the season,” the German warned in an interview recorded for the club’s press. “It’s not what I want (to do), it’s what I think is 100% right.”
Klopp, who has won Premier League and Champions League titles in a trophy-laden run at Anfield, said he was “running out of steam” after more than eight years in charge.
“I’m like a sports car. Not the best, but a good one. I can still go 160, 170, 180 miles per hour, but I’m the only one who notices that the needle is starting to go down,” he indicated. “The world doesn’t see it. That’s good. “So you keep going as long as you can, but then you need a break.”
Klopp, 56, informed Liverpool of his decision in November and that he would wait at least a year before considering another managerial position. He also ruled out moving to a Premier League rival.
“What I definitely know — I will never coach a club other than Liverpool in England, 100%,” he said. “It’s not possible. “My love for the club, my respect for the people is too great.”
“Of course, I know myself, I can’t sit still, I’ll find something else to do. But I will not manage any club or country for at least a year, it is not possible. “I can’t, nor do I want to do it.”
Klopp’s status with the club is secure after he helped return the team to the top of European football and ended the English league’s 30-year title drought in 2020.
His decision was a surprise considering that he recently rebuilt the team that leads the Premier League and will play the League Cup final against Chelsea.
Liverpool are also in contention in the FA Cup and the Europa League after finishing the previous campaign without trophies and failing to qualify for the Champions League.
Klopp described this season as “incredibly difficult” and spoke of the determination to rebuild.
“For me, it was super, super important that I could help the team get back on track. It was the only thing I thought about,” he commented. “When I realized that that happened, it is a great team with a lot of potential and with a good age, good character and all that, then I could think of myself and that was the result.”
Klopp had a reputation for winning before joining Liverpool after leading Borussia Dortmund to back-to-back German league titles in 2011 and 2012.
With Liverpool he won seven trophies and in 2022 he was in the fight to win four titles, something that was unprecedented, with the League Cup and the FA Cup. His team failed to win the league on the final day and lost the Champions League final to Real Madrid.
Now he is back in the fight for a title and he didn’t want his announcement to distract them.
“Let’s really go for it now,” he exclaimed. “Let’s get everything out of this season and get something else that will make us smile when we look back in the future.”
Liverpool also confirmed that assistants Pepijn Lijnders and Peter Krawietz, as well as elite development coach Vitor Matos, will leave at the end of the season.
He also announced that sporting director Jorg Schmadtke will leave at the end of the month in the transfer window.
Former Liverpool player and current Bayer Leverkusen manager Xabi Alonso has been linked as a possible successor to Klopp.
“What Jürgen has achieved with Liverpool. I have great respect and admiration for him, what he has done in nine years…. But my attention is here at Bayer Leverkusen,” Alonso indicated.