Jürgen Klopp will leave Liverpool at the end of the season. The German manager has sent a message to his unknown successor ahead of the Manchester City match.
Jürgen Klopp, the beloved Liverpool boss, has dismissed worries that his successor will have a tough time filling his shoes. Even though he’s leaving at the end of the season, Klopp believes the next manager is stepping into an ideal situation: a team poised for success, with plenty more still to achieve.
Klopp, who has been a hit on Merseyside since taking over in October 2015, has brought home eight trophies including the club’s first league title in 30 years and its sixth European Cup. His larger-than-life personality and the love he receives from Liverpool fans have led some to believe that his successor will have a hard time following him.
However, as he prepares for his final farewell, Klopp insists that the next manager is stepping into a perfect job. Speaking ahead of Liverpool’s crucial match against title rivals Manchester City this Sunday, Klopp said: “I really think it is the perfect moment for a new manager and not the wrong one because we didn’t win everything, we left spaces.”
He added: “Go at City after Pep Guardiola and you need to be champion 10 years in a row to achieve the same! Maybe it was good for that reason that we didn’t become champion with 97 points.”
Xabi Alonso, who used to play for Liverpool and now manages Bayer Leverkusen, is the top choice to take over when Klopp leaves. He’s got a special bond with Liverpool fans from his time as a player.
Klopp knows that the Liverpool supporters will give a big welcome to the new manager, no matter who it is. He shared a heartfelt message with the fans he’ll be saying goodbye to at the end of May: “You are the ones who make this club special.”
He said: “The people here are different. The people gave Bill Shankly the chance, and what came after Bill Shankly, and they are all bigger than we are, and the people will understand in the end that this was a fantastic time and we all enjoyed it like hell.”
Klopp believes that the team can do anything if the fans trust and support them. He’s sure that great managers will want to come to Liverpool because of its amazing team.
He added: “I think I came in at the right moment because it got lost a little bit and maybe I was the one who helped everyone to understand again how important it is. The club is special. Not because of the buildings, other clubs have nice stadiums, but because of the people.”
This might be the last time Klopp faces his old rival Guardiola (although there could still be an FA Cup showdown at Wembley in the Liverpool manager’s final game). They’ve competed 29 times before, with Klopp winning 12 and Guardiola 11.
Klopp reckons his intense rivalry with City’s boss, who bested him to bag Premier League victories in 2019 and 2022, has definitely boosted his managerial success. In Klopp’s own words: “It made me definitely a better manager, to find solutions against these teams to win these games. In this moment, I just got told now, I have a positive record against Pep. I have no clue how that happened, to be honest! But it is all fine.”
We’ll miss more or less everything about Klopp, but it will be hard to find anyone who speaks quite as eloquently. Even in a second language, he articulates things in a way most could only dream of doing. Even for him, convincing Liverpool fans that his departure won’t be so bad might be a step too far. But he has at least offered some kind of reassurance.
