Follow Mail Sport’s live blog for the latest news and updates as Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp announces he will leave the club at the end of the season.
‘The best memories are still to come’
‘He’s up there with my Dad!’
‘That’s that until the end of the season’
Will Klopp get a statue?
It would be easy in this job to blame the owners and say FSG should spend more…was I always happy with that no but they built two stands, this AXA Centre for the next 40/50 years, we did it properly, the LFC way, which I love. That we didn’t win CL/PLs… is not down to money.
That we got 97 points and 94 points and didn’t win the league or didn’t win more Champions League it wasn’t down to signing one player. If you want to blame anyone, blame me. Having a team that could do all that was exceptional.
‘I will find things to do’
I didn’t think about that. I will find things [to do]. Nobody has to worry about that.
The last few years have been ‘dog years’
Last season and three years ago, you can count them as dog years. If you look at a picture from 2015 and now you’d say: “That’s only 9 years [apart]!?”
‘I am grateful and thankful to Pep Lijnders’
I will take the break, but the others (who are leaving on the backroom staff) are ready. The impact Pep had in the last few years is second to none. I am thankful and grateful to him, he gave me so many new visions over the last few years.
‘The ride has been extraordinary’
We were talking about it earlier. I can understand the impact and the shock. We will have the right time and opportunity to look back and talk about his career.
The ride we have been on has been extraordinary. The relationships that have been created, the team that has been built has been a massive credit to him. His impact has been enormous. It has been an incredible eight plus years.
‘Being an honorary Scouser is one of my best achievements’
It was not tiring, it is intense. I had no clue what to expect. I knew about the size of the club. This is the best club in the world, it’s outstanding. Being an honorary Scouser is one of the best things I could ever have achieved in my life.
‘I hope the fans can accept the decision’
I hope you can accept the decision. I’m not in the mood for saying thank you and will do that – these things will happen. But now it’s the rest of the season. We know the outside world want it to be a distraction, but it’s all about us. Everything is clear.
Is there anything that can change his mind?
No, nothing. If I won everything this season, it wouldn’t change my mind.
I had to make the decision. I thought it through properly. It’s independent of any kind of result this season.
The big one is I can see there is a really good basis for this team. That’s why it’s a good moment to give it to someone else.
Any idea on who’s next through the door?
From our perspective, I wouldn’t want to set an expectation or No.1 The way we operate as a club is to ensure we have looked at all the information and data. I can’t commit to a timeline on it. It will go on in the background.
What’s next for Klopp?
I have never lived a (normal) life. That is true. Having three or four weeks in the summer was enough, but not any more. No club, no country for the next year, no other English club ever, I can promise that. Even if I have nothing to eat, it will not happen.
When I said “Liverpool 2.0” I didn’t mean me for the next years. A top manager will come here, play good football. It’s a wonderful future ahead, that is all I want, not to be the passenger who disturbs that process.
‘A lot of special memories’
I don’t have to remember anything now. In my world, the best memories are still to come. If I say one I will mention the wrong one but that’s not about today. A lot of special memories but not today. I don’t have any regrets.
The responsibilities of the job
In a sense, it was like that. The summer was difficult one. We were working really hard to bring in the right players. The summer and preparation we had was outstanding. That gave me a lot of joy. But it’s not about that.
I love the team and how we react, but it’s the stuff we have to do next to it. The planning – the transfer window isn’t just the window – you need to be spot on as well. Then I realised that’s something I cannot… I did it so often. Six press conferences a week for nine years!
Klopp ‘underestimated’ his energy levels
I am who I am and where I am because of how I am. If I can’t do it anymore then tell the people I stop. It wasn’t my idea when I signed a new contract, I was 100 per cent convinced we would go to 2026. I underestimated my energy levels as being endless. It always was. Now it’s not.
‘I’m surprised but I understand it’
Was I surprised? Yes, of course! But the amount of work and pressure (people don’t see)… I’m surprised but I understand it. Jurgen wanted the club to have opportunity to go through orderly process and not easy to do if this news isn’t public.
CEO Billy Hogan admits ‘it’s hard to put into words how significant it is’
It’s hard to put into words how significant it is. When Jurgen joined us he talked about leaving the club in a better place than he found it. There’s no doubt that he has done that. The news is sad, and I’m sure a lot of our supporters share that emotion.
We have worked alongside each other for the last nine years and I knew this was a decision he had come to and believed in. When your colleague and friend comes to a decision like that, you have to respect it.
Will Klopp have any say on his successor?
Why should I? In this world, you have a few faces who do an incredible you don’t see too often. It looks like I do all the work, I can’t. What we have built is an incredibly strong structure behind the scenes. So many people work here with only one idea: to find the best thing for Liverpool.
On leaving on his own terms
It’s different to other situations, usually when he says goodbye it’s because a manager has been sacked. I have to constantly always think about is it still right? No chance last season, a lot of managers would’ve been sacked but never any intention to do that.
How did the players take the news?
The players I spoke to altogether and a few others after that. The players didn’t have a lot of questions. We have a really strong bond. We are professionals.. The agreement with the players is for one year (at start of season). We are completely in that year and the boys are in a really good mood.
It wasn’t like the players were having a party when I told them, but they were out training as normal. It’s different to when a manager is sacked, who just goes in and says goodbye.
Klopp admits he felt ‘relief’ on announcing the news
The relief was there when I made the decision and that was another thing I realised, today it is mixed but I am not as emotional as I will be [when it’s over]. I had to tell the owners, then the supporters and players. The players’ reaction was top, really good.
‘It is the right thing to do’
You realise we are not young rabbits anymore and we don’t jump as high as we did. I didn’t think about it on purpose, it just happened. This club, especially with the team we have, needs a top manager at its level. When I can’t be there anyone, I have to tell someone. I told the club the decision and my coaches the decision. I still think it is the right thing to do.
Ihave been doing it (manager) for 24 years now and when you have career I have you invest everything you have. I realised my resources aren’t endless. I prefer to put everything into this season. I am not young anymore and can’t jump as high as I could, for example.
Here he comes
For those of you just joining us…
‘You can’t replace Klopp’
Jurgen Klopp to address the media after his shock announcement
Klopp’s still smiling!
Liverpool hero Luis Garcia reacts to Klopp’s exit
Erik ten Hag congratulates Klopp on ‘amazing job’
Xabi Alonso’s 2015 message to Jurgen Klopp resurfaces
All change at Liverpool under Klopp
Liverpool players ‘told this morning’ about Klopp’s exit
Xabi Alonso speaks out on Liverpool links
Jurgen Klopp’s fantastic record against Man United
Xabi Alonso ‘really happy’ at Bayer Leverkusen amid Liverpool links
WATCH: How Liverpool fans had Bill Shankly’s resignation broken to them in TV interviews 50 years ago
Tears at the end of the season are inevitable
TNT Sports presenter and Arsenal fan Laura Woods ‘upset’ by Klopp’s departure
Klopp set for huge Anfield reception on Sunday
Who is the favourite for the Liverpool job?
Jurgen Klopp’s funniest moments
Will Jurgen Klopp ever manage again?
Is Jurgen Klopp Liverpool’s greatest manager?
Jurgen Klopp’s ‘mentality monsters’
The secret behind Xabi Alonso’s success, as he emerges as a leading contender to replace Klopp
Jurgen Klopp’s influential wife, Ulla
Only Man City have bettered Liverpool’s points haul since Klopp took charge in 2015
Liverpool sporting director set to leave next week
Thomas Tuchel hails Klopp as ‘one of the very best’
Liverpool’s historic winning runs under Jurgen Klopp
David James in ‘disbelief’ that Klopp is leaving
Will Xabi Alonso replace Jurgen Klopp?
YOUR COMMENTS as Jurgen Klopp walks away from Liverpool
Can Liverpool finish the Klopp era in style?
Tributes continue to pour in for Jurgen Klopp
Jurgen Klopp to hold a press conference this afternoon
Jurgen Klopp’s current Liverpool record
Jurgen Klopp admits he’s ‘running out of energy’
Liverpool assistants also set to leave with Jurgen Klopp
Jurgen Klopp calls for Liverpool to ‘squeeze everything’ out of his final season
What is Jurgen Klopp’s greatest triumph at Liverpool?
Jurgen Klopp discusses his Liverpool exit in emotional interview
‘Heartbroken’ fans react to Klopp’s shock exit
Jamie Carragher pays tribute to Jurgen Klopp
Jurgen Klopp reveals reason for leaving Liverpool
Good morning!
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For those of you just joining us…
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Xabi Alonso ‘really happy’ at Bayer Leverkusen amid Liverpool links
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Will Jurgen Klopp ever manage again?
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The secret behind Xabi Alonso’s success, as he emerges as a leading contender to replace Klopp
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Liverpool sporting director set to leave next week
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Liverpool assistants also set to leave with Jurgen Klopp
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Jurgen Klopp reveals reason for leaving Liverpool
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