Jurgen Klopp admits relief over decision to quit Liverpool at end of season, says winning league wouldn’t change anything
- German says he didn’t want to just hang around and do the job, ready to find what normal life is like
- Klopp’s surprise move shocked many in the game, and he says he plans to take a year off
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp admits he is relieved to have finally made the decision to leave the club at the end of the season.
The German’s standing at Anfield meant it was unlikely he would have ever been sacked and, having already extended his contract two years beyond the seven he served at both Mainz and Borussia Dortmund, there would probably have been an expectation on him to go beyond 2026.
Klopp could have gone last summer after being physically and emotionally drained by a difficult season which saw Liverpool finish fifth but he chose to stay on to put things right.
With the club top of the Premier League and fighting on four fronts he has done that in remarkably quick time but even by November, the 56-year-old knew he had to get out.
“The relief was there when I made the decision for myself. I didn’t know that would be the case,” he said. “Today it [the feeling] is mixed. I am not as emotional as I will be.
“I have to make the decision at one point, because nobody else will, because of the trust and respect we have for each other and the owners knew I would take the decision. I don’t want to hang around and do the job somehow. I thought it through properly.