Jurgen Klopp must be considered as a Liverpool manager as great as the likes of Bob Paisley and Bill Shankly.
That is the opinion of former Liverpool defender Stephen Warnock, who was left shocked by the news that Klopp would be leaving the Reds at the end of the season.
Klopp confirmed in a video released via Liverpool's media channels on Friday that he would be calling time on his nine-year stint at Anfield.
In that time, Klopp has led Liverpool to a Premier League title, a Champions League crown, an FA Cup, EFL Cup, UEFA Super Cup, FIFA Club World Cup and Community Shield.
The Reds are top of the Premier League as it stands, and his tally of five major trophies ranks him fourth on the all-time list for Liverpool, after Shankly (six), Kenny Dalglish (six) and Paisley (13), with the Reds still competing for four competitions this season.
Klopp is the only Liverpool manager to win each of the top-flight, European Cup/Champions League, FA Cup, and EFL Cup with the club, meanwhile.
And while Shankly and Paisley are considered as club legends, Warnock believes Klopp deserves to be ranked alongside them and the club's very best managers.
Warnock told Stats Perform: "Shankly and Paisley will go down as arguably the two biggest influencers of managers, Shankly more so than Paisley because of the way he transformed the club.
"But then Paisley's success on the pitch was second to none. It was quite remarkable what he did. You could also look at Dalglish's time as manager.
"But where Liverpool were and what they were doing when Jurgen came in, he goes into that table of greats, that pool of greats.
"There are some great managers for Liverpool over the years, but he goes into the top three, top four."
Klopp replaced Brendan Rodgers in October 2015, and as well as winning almost every trophy available to him, has led Liverpool to multiple other finals.
The Reds have finished as Champions League runners-up twice, losing to Real Madrid in 2018 and 2022, while also pushing Pep Guardiola's Manchester City close in numerous Premier League title tussles.
And Warnock credits Klopp with not only revolutionising how Liverpool played, but also how teams in the Premier League followed suit.
"I think they were eighth in the league when he took over," Warnock said. "And people wondered how quickly he could have an effect on the team.
"Straight away, we saw that heavy metal football and the way he wanted to press. It was so different to what people had seen within the Premier League.
"You start to see the changes in personnel and the way that the football club started to move forward as a whole."
Liverpool's ownership – FSG – have come under some criticism for a perceived lack of investment in the club, but Warnock believes Klopp unified everyone involved.
"He connected the team, the club, the ownership. I think he managed to be that guy, the glue of the club, and who held things together," Warnock added.
"That's a personality trait that we don't often talk about, a huge skill of his to be able to do that.
"But the only thing he will be judged on was success on the football pitch, and to win a Premier League title, Liverpool's first Premier League title, and the first league title after 30 years, was quite remarkable.
"That's what he set out to do. He achieved that. Probably not in ideal circumstances with the pandemic and not having the fans to be able to celebrate it with them, but the position they were in was quite incredible."
Warnock thinks Klopp might have seen the end of the season as the best possible way to go out on a high note, with Liverpool still in with a chance of Premier League glory.
"It's not often you see a manager walk away when the club's on an incline, when it's on the way up - because they are on the way up," he said.
"This is a Liverpool 2.0, as he's called them. And I think that's why it's surprising. They've re-energised him with this team, they gave him that buzz back of being the manager.
"That's what's surprising to everyone. But maybe he has just thought, 'This is the best way to go out!'"
Hurtig the hero after late goal sends Arsenal into Champions League quarters
Lina Hurtig's 89th minute winner ensured Arsenal progressed to the quarter-finals of the Women's Champions League after edging Juventus 1-0 on Thursday.
After being frustrated for large parts of the encounter, Hurtig bundled home from close range after Martina Lenzini's poor clearance to book the Gunners' place in the last eight.
Despite Arsenal dominating the early exchanges, it was Juventus who had the first sight of goal, though Eva Schatzer's effort was easy for Daphne van Domselaar to gather.
In a first half that saw just two shots on target, both coming from the visitors, Renee Slegers' substitutes proved to be the difference for Arsenal.
Slegers introduced Beth Mead, Stina Blackstenius and Hurtig late on, with the latter somehow putting Kim Little's cross over the bar from five yards out.
However, the Swede would atone for her earlier error, combining with fellow substitute Blackstenius to net against her former club and send them out of the competition with two group games remaining.
Meanwhile, in Group D, Barcelona edged closer to the quarter-finals of the competition with a convincing 4-1 victory over St. Polten at the Generali Arena.
The reigning champions are still three points behind Manchester City following their 2-1 win over Hammarby, and know a win against the Swedes next month will see them progress.
Kika Nazareth opened the scoring in the 20th minute after capitalising on a mistake by Kamila Dubcova, notching her second nine minutes later from close range.
Barca found themselves three goals up at the break when Vicky Lopez netted her first goal in the competition to put the result beyond doubt.
There was also a landmark moment for Alexia Putellas, who netted her 200th goal for the club with a well-taken effort into the far corner.
Valentina Madl took some of the shine off an otherwise impressive display from the visitors, who have now taken their tally to 20 goals from their four matches in the competition.
Guardiola agrees two-year contract extension with Man City
Pep Guardiola will be Manchester City manager for at least two more seasons after 2024-25, after he signed a two-year contract extension on Thursday.
The 53-year-old was coming to the end of his City deal, which was due to expire at the end of the current campaign, but he has opted to remain at the Etihad Stadium.
The deal itself will take Guardiola's tenure at the club to over a decade, making him City's longest-serving manager since Les McDowall in 1963.
There had been suggestions that he may leave at the end of the season following the announcement that director of football Txiki Begiristain was on his way out.
Guardiola was strongly linked with the England job after Gareth Southgate resigned in the wake of their Euro 2024 final defeat, but the Football Association appointed Thomas Tuchel last month.
“Manchester City means so much to me," Guardiola said. “This is my ninth season here; we have experienced so many amazing times together. I have a really special feeling for this football club.
“That is why I am so happy to be staying for another two more seasons.
“Thank you to everyone for continuing to trust and support me – The Owner, The Chairman Khaldoon, Ferran, Txiki, the players and, of course, the fans… everyone connected to Manchester City. It has always been an honour, a pleasure and a privilege to be here.
“I have said this many times before, but I have everything a manager could ever wish for, and I appreciate that so much.
“Hopefully, now we can add more trophies to the ones we have already won. That will be my focus.”
Having been appointed in 2016, Guardiola is by some distance Manchester City's most successful manager of all time, having won 18 major trophies during his time at the club.
That list includes their first-ever Champions League triumph in 2023 and six Premier League titles, including an unprecedented four on the spin.
He also boasts a 72.04% win percentage across all competitions, which is unsurprisingly the highest of any full-time City manager in history.
Shaw at the double as Man City progress in Champions League
Khadija Shaw scored twice as Manchester City beat Hammarby 2-1 to seal their place in the Women's Champions League quarter-finals.
Gareth Taylor's team entered Thursday's game with a perfect record in Group D, and their fourth win in as many European matches ensured they finished in the top two.
Shaw—the leading scorer in the Women's Super League this season with eight goals—put them ahead in the 31st minute, driving into the area after taking in Yui Hasegawa's pass before seeing her shot deflect into the top corner.
Shaw was booked for celebrating in front of the home fans despite appearing to have objects thrown at her from the stands, and Hammarby should have levelled when Julia Blakstad fired wide 10 minutes later.
The hosts did draw level three minutes into the second half as Ellen Wangerheim tapped home while City's Laura Blindkilde Brown was down appealing for a free-kick.
That parity was short-lived, though, as Shaw blasted into the top corner from 25 yards out, taking her overall tally for this season to 12 goals in all competitions.
In Group C, meanwhile, Bayern Munich lost their perfect record as they played out a 1-1 draw with Valerenga, boosting Arsenal's hopes of topping the pile.
Jovana Damnjanovic came off the bench to put Bayern ahead 15 minutes from time in Norway, but Elise Thorsnes headed home following an 88th-minute corner to snatch a point for the hosts.
Arsenal could now move within a point of Bayern when they face Juventus in Group C's other match later on Thursday.
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