Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp will step down at the end of the season, saying he is “running out of energy”.
Klopp was appointed in October 2015 and his contract was due to run until 2026.
“I told the club already in November,” said Klopp to club media. The decision comes with Liverpool top of the Premier League.
“I can understand that it’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.
Liverpool Manager Jurgen Klopp. (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)
“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.”
Klopp has the highest win rate of any manager in Liverpool’s history in all competitions (60.7%, in 50 or more games), while he is the only Liverpool manager to win each of the English top flight, European Cup/Champions League, FA Cup, and League Cup with the Reds.
Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher said on X: “This news was always going to be a body blow to the club whenever it came. I just thought it would be another few years away. What a manager, what a man, let’s go out with a bang Jurgen!”