Jürgen Klopp leaves Liverpool: a surprise announcement that shocks English football

The German coach Jürgen Klopp surprised this Friday by announcing that he will not continue on the English Liverpool bench at the end of this season and that he will end eight and a half years at the helm of the ‘Red’ team with which, so far, he has won six titles, including a Champions League and a Premier League. The coach confirmed his decision on the club’s website, where he made clear the need to announce it “as soon as possible to create the conditions for an orderly transition to take place in due time.” The news generated shock among fans, since Klopp’s contract is valid until mid-2026. But the end will come two years before. “I know I can’t do the job over and over and over and over again,” he explained, stressing that he owes everyone the truth. “And that is the truth,” he asserted.

“I can understand it being a ‘shock’ to a lot of people at the moment, when you hear it for the first time, but obviously I can explain it, or at least try to explain it. “I love absolutely everything about this club, the city, our fans, the team and the staff, but the fact that I still make this decision shows that I am convinced that it is the one I have to make,” said Klopp. The German admitted that in a sense he is running out of “energy.” “I don’t have any problems now, obviously, I already knew for a long time that I would have to announce it at some point, but now I am absolutely fine. I know I can’t do the job over and over and over and over again,” he stressed.

“After the years we have spent together and after all the things we have been through together, respect and love grow, and the least I owe the club is the truth,” added the Mainz coach, who arrived at club on October 8, 2015 and who has led a successful era for Liverpool with which they won the 2019 Champions League, the 2020 Premier League, the first since 1990, the Club World Cup (2019), an FA Cup (2022) , a League Cup (2022), the European Super Cup (2019) and an English Super Cup (2022). In addition, he led them to two more Champions League finals, both lost to Real Madrid in 2018 and 2022.

Klopp already communicated this decision to the club in November. “When we sat down with the club to talk about possible signings and the preseason, the thought arose that I was no longer sure about continuing here and that surprised me,” he remarked. “Last season was super difficult and there were times when at other clubs the decision probably would have been: ‘Come on, thank you very much for everything, but we should probably split up or break up.’ That didn’t happen here, for me it was super important to be able to help this team get back on track, it was all I was thinking about,” added the German.

He warns that Liverpool is currently “a really good team with enormous potential” and that this helped him “start thinking” about himself “again.” “It’s not what I want to do, it’s just what I think is one hundred percent right,” Klopp said. “We are Liverpool and together we went through more difficult things, even more difficult things before me. Let’s make it a strength, that would be great . Let’s make the most of this season and have something else to smile about when we look back in the future,” he said.

With five months left until the end of the campaign, the Reds are still ahead in four competitions (they lead the Premier League, for example) and, although there are still trophies to fight for, Klopp wants to stop any farewell until his last game in charge of Liverpool , in May. “We will have a moment, perhaps the last day here or somewhere else, I mean in other countries or other competitions. There is enough time to do these kinds of things. Now we are going for everything,” he commented.

England will have to get used to living without the presence of the coach who has been in charge the longest of the twenty currently leading the Premier League, and whose sporting rivalry with Pep Guardiola and Manchester City led to some pulsating recent seasons. The two coaches will have the opportunity to meet at least once more, the second week of March, at Anfield. Meanwhile, Klopp will return to his temple in front of his faithful fans on Sunday against Norwich City, a second-rate club coached by one of his best friends, David Wagner, in an FA Cup match. The legendary chant ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ will probably resonate a little louder than usual at the legendary Anfield Road stadium . And there is already a final guaranteed : the winner of the current League Cup will play Chelsea at Wembley in February.

“In line with Jürgen’s expressed wishes, we will save comprehensive tributes for a more appropriate time, however we would be remiss if we did not take this opportunity to reaffirm that his appointment remains one of the greatest blessings of our time as owners,” he said. Mike Gordon, president of Fenway Sports Group and director of the club. “The incredible achievements of these years speak for themselves, as does the joy that Jürgen and his team have brought to all of us fans. “His many achievements will never be taken for granted” In the 2019-20 season, Klopp led Liverpool to their first league title since 1990, and the first of the Premier League era. The previous season, Liverpool had lifted the Champions League, defeating Tottenham Hotspur in the final.