Jürgen Klopp has announced that he will step down as Liverpool head coach at the end of the season. The German has been in charge since 2015, winning the Champions League in 2019 and the Premier League in 2020.
Premier League club Liverpool have announced that Jürgen Klopp will step down as head coach at the end of the current season after eight-and-a-half years in charge.
The German has been in charge of the "Reds" since 2015, winning six major trophies including the Champions League in 2019 and the club's first Premier League title in 30 years one year later.
"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," he told the club's official website, revealing that he made his decision back in November.
"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."
Klopp: from Dortmund to Liverpool
Klopp joined Liverpool from German side Borussia Dortmund, with whom he won two Bundesliga titles (2011 and 2012) and the German Cup. Before that, he had led Mainz 05 to promotion to the Bundesliga.
Known for his high-intensity pressing and counter-attacking style of football, Klopp quickly became a popular figure in Liverpool, leading the club through its most successful era since the 1980s.
Liverpool are currently top of the Premier League, five points clear of reigning champions Manchester City, having played one game more. Were Klopp to lead them to a second Premier League this season, it would see Liverpool equal arch rivals Manchester United's record 20 English league titles.
With the second half of the season getting underway, Klopp explained that his decision to step down has been timed to give the club clarity and time to plan for his successor.
"I told the club already in November," he said. "I have to explain a little bit that maybe the job I do people see from the outside, I’m on the touchline and in training sessions and stuff like this, but the majority of all the things happen around these kind of things. That means a season starts and you plan pretty much the next season already.
"When we sat there together talking about potential signings, the next summer camp and can we go wherever, the thought came up: 'I am not sure I am here then anymore' and I was surprised myself by that. I obviously started thinking about it."
Source: Dw
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