Jurgen Klopp to step down as Liverpool manager at end of season

Jurgen Klopp has announced he will step down as Liverpool manager at the end of this season, saying he is “running out of energy”.

“I can understand that it’s a shock for a lot of people in this moment when you hear it for the first time,” Klopp said on Friday of his surprise resignation.

“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,” said the 56-year-old, who took charge at Liverpool in 2015.

“That I still take this decision probably shows you that I’m convinced it’s the one I have to take. It is that I’m – how can I say this? – that I’m running out of energy.”

Jürgen Klopp has announced his decision to step down as #LFC manager at the end of the season, having informed the club’s ownership of his wish to leave his position in the summer.

— Liverpool FC (@LFC) January 26, 2024

Klopp, who led Liverpool into the final of the League Cup on Wednesday, informed the club’s hierarchy that he would end his eight and a half years at Anfield at the end of the current campaign.

The German joined Liverpool in October 2015 and has won the Champions League, Premier League, Club World Cup, FA Cup, League Cup and Super Cup as well as the Community Shield during his time in charge.

“In keeping with Jurgen’s expressed wishes, we will save the comprehensive tributes for a more appropriate time, but nevertheless, we would be remiss if we did not take this opportunity to reaffirm that his appointment remains one of the greatest blessings of our time as owners,” said Mike Gordon, president of Liverpool owners Fenway Sports Group.

“The incredible achievements of the intervening years speak for themselves, so too does the joy that Jurgen and his team have brought to all of us supporters. His many accomplishments will never be taken for granted.”

Before joining Liverpool, Klopp was the manager at German football club Borussia Dortmund, where he won Bundesliga titles in 2011 and 2012.

He took them to the 2013 Champions League final, where they lost to Bayern Munich at Wembley.

Asked whether he was leaving for health reasons, Klopp said: “I am healthy as much as you can [be] at my age. Little bits and bobs, stuff like that, but nothing anybody has to be concerned about, so that’s absolutely fine.”

He also said that in an ideal world, he would have waited until the end of the season to announce his departure, but that it is not possible to “keep things like this secret”.

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! https://t.co/ajw372IEWX

— Jamie Carragher (@Carra23) January 26, 2024

“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!” former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher posted on X.

“It is really shocking news. Kloppo is one of the very best coaches in the world, and wherever he was, he always managed to put his stamp on the clubs that he was with, whether it was Mainz, Dortmund or now Liverpool, and I experienced that in England myself,” Bayern Munich coach Thomas Tuchel said.