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" and had informed the owners of his decision back in November.
"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."
A message to Liverpool supporters from Jürgen Klopp. pic.twitter.com/l7rtmxgOzt
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) January 26, 2024
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.
Klopp - a two-time World's Best Coach winner - won his seventh and most recent Liverpool honour in the 2022 Community Shield, after which a challenging campaign for Liverpool saw them miss out on Champions League football for the first time since Klopp's debut year.
© Reuters
The former Borussia Dortmund boss - who signed a contract extension with Liverpool until 2026 in April 2022 - was heavily linked with the Germany job after Hansi Flick's departure, but he turned down the chance to manage his national team to supervise the Reds' summer rebuild.
Following the arrivals of Wataru Endo, Dominik Szoboszlai, Ryan Gravenberch and Alexis Mac Allister to replace the ageing Jordan Henderson, Fabinho and James Milner, Liverpool have made an unforeseen exceptional start to the season and are once again chasing a quartet of honours.
Sitting five points clear at the top of the Premier League table, Liverpool also advanced to the knockout stage of the Europa League as group winners and will face Chelsea in next month's EFL Cup final thanks to a 3-2 aggregate semi-final win over Fulham.
The Reds will bid to reach the fifth round of the FA Cup in Sunday's clash with Norwich City at Anfield, in what will be Klopp's first game since the announcement of his shock resignation.
As well as Klopp - who boasts 283 wins from 466 matches in charge of the Reds - the 56-year-old's assistants Pep Lijnders and Peter Krawietz will also leave the club, as will elite development coach Vitor Matos.
Ben Knapton
