Premier League: Jurgen Klopp to leave Liverpool at end of season
Jurgen Klopp has announced that he will step down from his position as Liverpool boss at the end of the season after a glittering nine-year spell at the Anfield helm.
The 56-year-old revealed the bombshell news in a heartfelt message to supporters on Friday morning, telling liverpoolfc.com in an extended interview that he was simply “running out of energy”.
“I will leave the club at the end of the season. I can understand that that’s a shock for a lot of people in this moment, when you hear it for the first time, but obviously I can explain it – or at least try to explain it,” Klopp said.
“I love absolutely everything about this club, I love everything about the city, I love everything about our supporters, I love the team, I love the staff. I love everything. But that I still take this decision shows you that I am convinced it is the one I have to take. It is that I am, how can I say it, running out of energy.
“I have no problem now, obviously, I knew it already for longer that I will have to announce it at one point, but I am absolutely fine now. I know that I cannot do the job again and again and again and again.
“After the years we had together and after all the time we spent together and after all the things we went through together, the respect grew for you, the love grew for you and the least I owe you is the truth – and that is the truth. That’s it, pretty much.
Klopp took control of the Anfield reins from Brendan Rodgers in October 2015, since when he has masterminded Liverpool’s transformation into a dominant force in the Premier League, European and global landscape with his effective counter-pressing style.
Moulding the Reds into his own vision, Klopp has overseen the arrival of several high-profile transfers, namely Mohamed Salah, Alisson Becker and Virgil van Dijk, and winning a total of seven trophies during his Merseyside stint.
After guiding Liverpool to their sixth Champions League crown in 2019, Klopp delivered a long-awaited first Premier League title to Anfield in the COVID-19-affected 2019-20 season, prior to which the Reds also became UEFA Super Cup and Club World Cup champions.
Up until the final few weeks of the 2021-22 season, Liverpool were chasing an unprecedented quadruple in the Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup and EFL Cup, although they were forced to accept runners-up finishes in the former two tournaments while completing a domestic cup double.
