Jurgen Klopp broke Liverpool fans’ hearts in January when he said he would be leaving at the end of the season, but the decision has taken a long time.
Jurgen Klopp confirmed in January that he will leave Liverpool at the conclusion of the season.
The revelation stunned the football world, with Reds fans devastated by Klopp‘s seemingly unexpected decision to leave the club after nine years at the end of this season.
However, Klopp has always been upfront about his desire to leave Anfield, claiming that he never imagined himself imitating Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United and spending nearly three decades with the same club.
In 2020, Klopp spoke out regarding his future at Liverpool and in football in general, telling German tabloid SportBuzzer: “I’ll take a year off and see if I miss it. If I say no, it will be the end of coach Jurgen Klopp.”
In the same interview, he hinted at what may have spurred his decision to ultimately step down this season, disclosing what aspects of the job he dislikes. He went on to say: “If one day I am no longer a coach, there is one thing I will not miss: the brutal tension immediately before the game.”
Klopp did not use these precise words when he attempted to explain his departure to Liverpool fans in a statement released in January. However, he stated that the job is hard, implying that the game’s ‘brutal intensity’ has finally reached a breaking point.
“I am convinced [the decision to leave Liverpool] is the one I have to take,” he stated. “It is that I am, how shall I put it, running out of energy. I have no trouble now; obviously, I have known for a long time that I would have to declare it at some point, but I am completely OK right now. I am aware that I will be unable to complete the task repeatedly.
“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.”
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