In what was a completely unexpected and shocking announcement on Friday morning, Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp confirmed to the entire world that he will be leaving the club at the end of the season.
The German tactician, who arrived in Merseyside back in October 2015, made this bombshell announcement in an official video published on Liverpool's official social media accounts. The beloved manager, who is sat in front of a camera, reveals that this will be his final campaign with the Reds.
"I will leave the club at the end of the season," Klopp states in an emotional message directed to the fans.
A message to Liverpool supporters from Jürgen Klopp. pic.twitter.com/l7rtmxgOzt
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) January 26, 2024
The 56-year-old then goes on to explain the reasoning behind this surprise decision, stating that he is running out of energy and while he is fit and healthy to see out the campaign, he cannot continue to give the Merseyside giants 100 percent.
The former Dortmund boss also admitted that he communicated this decision to the club back in November, meaning this was not an abrupt move from the German boss. Additionally, he will not be the only one leaving Merseyside and will be followed by assistant managers Pepijn Lijnders and Peter Krawietz and development coach Vitor Matos out the door.
As mentioned earlier, Klopp has been in charge at Anfield for nearly nine years, moving to the Premier League in the middle of the 2015-16 campaign. Since then, he has overseen 466 games and has led the English giants to seven trophies, including their first-ever Premier League crown in 2019-20.
Furthermore, he guided the Reds to the UEFA Champions League title in 2018-19 as well as two runners-up finishes in 2017-18 and 2021-22. Additionally, Klopp, alongside Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola, is widely recognized for taking English football to a never-before-seen height, one that may never be witnessed again.
Jurgen's side are in the midst of another Premier League title race as they currently top the table by five points with 17 games left to go. Additionally, Van Dijk and Co. recently booked their ticket to the Carabao Cup final and are one of the favorites to win the FA Cup and UEFA Europa League too, meaning Klopp could achieve something historic in his final few months at Anfield.
While talks of his potential successor will pick up pace in the upcoming months, fans have already begun naming their ideal candidates, with Bayer Leverkusen boss Xabi Alonso being the most common name. However, until that process officially begins, fans and pundits alike have united in bidding farewell to an icon of English football.
