Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk insists he is “fully committed” to the club as he dismissed reports suggesting he is ready to quit Anfield.

The Netherlands defender’s comments on whether he would be around after manager Jurgen Klopp departs this summer sparked speculation he could follow his manager out of the door.

Klopp announced on Friday that he will step down at the end of the season, and, asked whether he saw himself as part of the next Liverpool era, Van Dijk replied: “That’s a big question. Well, I don’t know.”

The 32-year-old has 18 months remaining on his current deal and, speaking to the Men in Blazers podcast on Tuesday, Van Dijk moved to clear up the uncertainty created since Klopp’s decision was made public.

“It’s much taken out of context,” the centre-back said of the response to his previous comments.

“To be 100 per cent clear, I am fully committed to the club. I love the club. I love the fans. It is fully taken out of context.”

With Liverpool top of the Premier League and in the final of the Carabao Cup, Van Dijk said ending the Klopp era with silverware remains the priority.

“It’s not about me, it’s not about I. It is about us and nothing has changed,” he added.

“Five days ago we weren’t even speaking about my contract so it’s silly.

“My full focus is on making sure this year can be very special, obviously (it was a) big announcement over the last couple of days. It has been a shock to each one of us connected to the club.

“We mean business, we want to crack on, we want to achieve things that we dreamed of at the start of the season and don’t get it twisted, I’m fully committed to the club – I love each and every second that I am the captain.”

Tottenham head coach Ange Postecoglou does not predict Liverpool or Manchester City falling away in the coming years irrespective of who manages both clubs.

City have won five of the last six Premier League titles with current leaders Liverpool breaking the monopoly in 2020, but Jurgen Klopp will depart Anfield at the end of the campaign.

Klopp will leave after nine seasons in England and Pep Guardiola will match that tally next term.

Postecoglou has repeatedly expressed his desire for Spurs to regularly compete with the best clubs in England, but knows they must improve and not rely on others to dip in order for that to happen.

“If that’s your only hope, waiting for the top ones to slip? I just don’t think you get there. I really don’t,” he said ahead of Brentford’s visit on Wednesday.

“I’d rather them be at their best and we match them, get up to their level and exceed it. Rather than hope they slip up. I just don’t think that’s a strategy. It is more of a wish.

“We got a real good indicator the other night and to be fair to the lads we hung in there, fought hard but we were playing against probably the best side in the world at the moment and there was a difference between us, for sure.

“If we’re hoping they will come back to us, rather than us try to get to them, you’re chasing a lost cause.

“I just don’t see them coming back to the field. Even with Jurgen going, I still think there is a really strong squad there, a really strong mentality.

“I’ll be very surprised if whoever takes over doesn’t continue to build on that.

“I always think with those kind of things, it’s up to the challengers to change the status quo. That can only happen if you have that sort of desire and will to challenge that and not be afraid of falling short, because ultimately if you don’t, they’re just going to keep winning.”

What may help Tottenham’s cause is the growing revenue streams at the club after they were placed eighth in last week’s Deloitte Football Money League.

It makes Spurs the richest club in London with a revenue of £549.2million in the 2022-23 season.

But Postecoglou insisted: “It helps and it’s a credit to the club we got ourselves in that position, but that’s not what clubs are measured by. They’re measured by other things.”

The Australian was also guarded on whether this quiet January transfer window is a sign of things to come.

He added: “Hard to say if this is the New World. Obviously there’s financial parameters dictating how these windows work.

“Maybe the way clubs are working is sort of changing. I think there are more strategic decisions and less not panic buys, but desperation just to bring anybody in, or just buy someone.

“I think clubs are being a little bit more strategic now in these moves. I also think there’s very little secrets out there.

“If you went through all the Premier League clubs and snatched their list of 18-21 targets, I don’t think there would be a lot of difference between them all.

“Everyone’s a little bit more cagey and strategic. Will it last? Maybe. I don’t know, but that’s certainly the indication I get at the moment.”

Pep Guardiola has “everything a manager could dream of” at Manchester City and has been re-energised by their continuing success.

The recent decision of Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp to stand down at the end of the season, citing the need for a break, has brought focus on Guardiola’s own position at the Etihad Stadium.

Yet the famously intense Spaniard, who himself took a year out after quitting Barcelona in 2012 and is contracted only until the end of next season, insists he has no plans to follow Klopp’s exit.

“I have everything that a manager could dream of,” said Guardiola, who took charge at City in 2016.

“The hierarchy support me and always have. It’s a good environment.

“I still feel good and, of course, one day it is going to finish but I don’t think about that right now.”

Guardiola’s successes at City include five Premier League titles and the Champions League.

Their crowning glory came as they won the treble last season but Guardiola’s hunger has shown no signs of abating.

Already this season they have lifted the European Super Cup and the Club World Cup and they maintain hope of retaining all three major pieces of silverware they claimed last term.

Guardiola said: “Winning helps you to have more energy. When you are losing games you are more tired but I see the team getting better and playing difficult opponents like at Goodison Park after the Club World Cup or Newcastle or Spurs away.

“Seeing how the team behaved (showed) me, wow, we are still together, we are on the same path. That gives you energy.

“You do not switch energy on or off. You have to bring energy every day. That is what I am living now.”

In keeping with his previous contract extensions, Guardiola insists there is no urgency to agree fresh terms.

He said: “I think we have time. Now I feel really good, like always I have been, but football changes a lot.

“I have my opinion that when you have a year-and-a-half left on your contract it is a lot of time in world football.

“Many things are involved and extending after two years is not the same as extending after nine, it’s completely different. But still I am sitting here and I am OK.”

Guardiola, 53, says he now feels more relaxed than when he was a younger manager and found it difficult to switch off from the pressures of the job.

He said: “When I started in Barcelona I was like that but now I can stay on the sofa watching TV and don’t think about football.

“That helps me because after I have more desire to reconnect. Before I was thinking all the time because I thought I was missing something or not being professional enough.

“I understand that was a mistake and it’s better to have quality (time) for what you want to do.”

Mohamed Salah will be the Liverpool player to watch as Jurgen Klopp leaves the club, with Stephen Warnock wondering if the superstar winger's sale might represent "an opportunity" in the Anfield rebuild.

Hugely popular Liverpool manager Klopp announced last week this season will be his last at Liverpool, departing after almost nine years on Merseyside.

Klopp's coaching staff are following him out of the club, while sporting director Jorg Schmadtke is to exit at the end of the January transfer window.

The shock announcement of Klopp's decision leaves Liverpool with lots to do before the next campaign, and calls may have to be made around some of the key men who have made the manager's tenure such a success.

For Warnock, who played for the Reds under Rafael Benitez, Salah's situation is particularly interesting.

The prolific winger has previously been linked with a move to the Saudi Pro League, and his contract expires in 2025.

"I think more so Salah than anyone," Warnock told Stats Perform. "Just because of the age, the Saudi interest... what does he now do?

"Who comes into the football club as manager? What do they see this position as? Do they think it's an opportunity to cash in and maybe rebuild a little bit more and add more quality to the quality that's already there?"

Liverpool might consider their options, but the same is true of Salah and his team-mates, who Warnock expects to be "absolutely devastated" by Klopp's announcement.

"There's not many more managers that you'd want to work for," he added. "If you could have a choice of managers to pick the phone up, he's in your top five, isn't he? Of managers in world football, arguably your top two.

"So, when you look at it like that from a player's point of view, they'll be absolutely devastated, because they know they're working with arguably one of the best managers in world football, then who comes in to replace him?"

That is a concern for the end of the season, though, and in the meantime, Liverpool have the opportunity to send Klopp out on a high as they pursue four trophies, including another Premier League title.

"There is a job to be done," Warnock said. "It's not a swansong and just a happy-go-lucky atmosphere. This is you going for a Premier League title.

"But you're also going up against top teams. You're going up against Manchester City, who've got arguably one of the best managers in world football and probably the best squad and team of players.

"So, there's a job at hand to do as well. Whether it inspires the team or not, we'll never know, because they were in the race anyway, but it might just give them that little extra boost that they need."

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp insists he had to “pull himself together” for the FA Cup victory over Norwich after an outpouring of emotion from friends and fans after he announced he would leave the club at the end of the season.

His players followed through on his insistence that nothing should change with a 5-2 win over Norwich to set up a fifth-round tie at home to either Watford or Southampton.

It came amid a celebration of Klopp at Anfield, who sat in contemplative mood as the Kop belted out ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ before kick-off and followed it up with a first-minute rendition of ‘I’m so glad that Jurgen is a Red’.

“It’s emotional but I have to pull myself together. I received all the messages. I’m not made of wood,” said Klopp.

“It was a top performance from everybody involved, really good.

“We could have passed a little but with more purpose, direction and being quicker in the way we scored two goals but conceded a set-piece goal.

“But it is clear when you are as dominant as we are, if we improve in some departments we create more chances.”

Curtis Jones and Darwin Nunez scored either side of Ben Gibson’s headed equaliser but in the second half it was virtual one-way traffic and further goals came from Diogo Jota, Virgil van Dijk and Ryan Gravenberch, with Borja Sainz’s screamer briefly making it 4-2.

However, other major plus points were the returns from injury off the bench from Andy Robertson – out since October with a dislocated shoulder – fellow full-back Trent Alexander-Arnold and midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai.

With Premier League matches against Chelsea and Arsenal in the next week, having them all back is a real boost.

“It was very important that we could give them minutes. Trent and Dom were not that long out but Robbo was out for a long time and each minute they could get is really important and here it helped to share intensity,” added Klopp.

“We played pretty good without them, so it is about how we are playing. We have to make sure we are the one team Chelsea does not want to play against and Arsenal doesn’t want to play against.”

Norwich boss David Wagner, Klopp’s long-time friend, admitted his side were up against it.

“A deserved win for Liverpool, the better side won. My team put a shift in and tried to play out from the back. We scored two wonderful goals and were competitive,” he said.

“I said before, ‘let’s attack this competition with freedom’. We were able to get some players closer to the squad and it was a step for us. Now we have to make sure we recover in the Championship.”

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp does not expect the attitude of his players to change with the shock news he is to leave the club at the end of the season.

The news the 56-year-old will not see out his contract until 2026 was a seismic event in football and the inevitable questions immediately followed about how it would affect a campaign which, with a bit of luck, has the potential to be the greatest in the club’s history.

Liverpool are five points clear at the top of the Premier League, into the last 16 of the Europa League, the Carabao Cup final next month and home advantage against Championship side Norwich on Sunday for a place in the fifth round of the FA Cup.

Klopp notified owners Fenway Sports Group of his decision in November but his squad only found out an hour or so before the news went public.

“The players didn’t have a lot of questions. I spoke to them all together and then a few after that,” said Klopp.

“We have a really strong bond. We are professionals. The agreement you have on both sides is you agree for one year, after that the manager can get the sack or a player can want a new contract.

“We are completely in that year and the boys see it exactly like that.

“You can see the boys are in a really good mood. They weren’t having a party when I told them but it was just an announcement.

“I told them it is different to other situations; usually when a manager is in a dressing room and talks like that he got sacked. It isn’t like that because of the things we achieved with each other.

“I think a lot of people from the outside who are not with us will be happy. The distraction comes from outside but to get distracted you need two parts and we will not let it happen.

“If you want we can grow even more together and squeeze everything out of the season.

“There was before no guarantee we would win anything from this season and there is now no guarantee.

“We will fight 100 per cent. I cannot do the job in the future but I can do it very well right now.”

A visibly physically and emotionally drained Klopp could have left in the summer after a season of struggles and a failure to qualify for the Champions League or win a trophy.

However, the German saw it as his duty to rectify the problems within the squad and with clever recruitment he has done that, laying the foundations for his successor.

“We had last year’s situation and I think a lot of managers would have got the sack but there was never any intention (by FSG) to do that,” he added.

“This team is set up for the future. When I said Liverpool 2.0, that didn’t include me for the next 10 years but the team is there, the basis is there.

“Whoever comes in has the chance to play really good football. What we all did in the last years, changing from doubters to believers. It is a wonderful future ahead and that is all I want.”

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp admits he is relieved to have finally made the decision to leave the club at the end of the season.

The German’s standing at Anfield meant it was unlikely he would have ever been sacked and, having already extended his contract two years beyond the seven he served at both Mainz and Borussia Dortmund, there would probably have been an expectation on him to go beyond 2026.

Klopp could have gone last summer after being physically and emotionally drained by a difficult season which saw Liverpool finish fifth, but he chose to stay on in order to put things right.

With the club top of the Premier League and fighting on four fronts he has done that in remarkably quick time but even by November, the 56-year-old knew he had to get out.

“The relief was there when I made the decision for myself. I didn’t know that would be the case,” he said.

“Today it (the feeling) is mixed. I am not as emotional as I will be.

“I have to make the decision at one point, because nobody else will, because of the trust and respect we have for each other, and the owners knew I would take the decision.

“I don’t want to hang around and do the job somehow. I thought it through properly.

“I want (to win) everything this season, but it wouldn’t change my mind – and if we don’t win anything it wouldn’t change my mind.

“It’s a decision I made independent of any kind of results.”

In his first press conference as Liverpool boss in 2015 Klopp declared himself the ‘normal one’ and he maintains that is who he is despite his high profile.

He insists he has no regrets about any decisions he has taken at Liverpool, with whom he has won the Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup among a host of titles, but admits he has missed out on life away from football.

“I arrived here like a normal guy and I never lived that,” he added.

“It is three or four weeks in a summer which somehow is fine. Whatever will happen in the future, I don’t know now.

“I don’t know how normal life is so I have to find out.”

Klopp plans to take a year off and then see how he feels but has ruled out a return to management in England.

“Whatever will happen in the future I don’t know now, but no club, no country, for the next year, and no other English club ever,” he said.

“I can promise that, even if I have nothing to eat that will not happen.”

Bayer Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso has emerged as the early favourite to succeed Klopp.

The former Liverpool midfielder insists his focus was solely on his current role and that he was in “the right place”.

Pep Guardiola joked that he will sleep better once Jurgen Klopp has left Liverpool – and backed his long-time rival to return to management one day.

Klopp made the shock announcement on Friday morning that he will be quitting Anfield at the end of the season after nine years in charge.

Guardiola joined City a year after Klopp arrived on Merseyside, and the duo have been jostling at the top of English football almost ever since, with the German ending Liverpool’s 30-year wait for the title in 2020.

They had previously locked horns for two years in Germany with Guardiola at Bayern Munich and Klopp in charge of Borussia Dortmund, and have faced each other more than any other manager – a total of 29 times.

The two clubs have since met in the Premier League on 15 occasions in an enduring rivalry which Guardiola once described as “beautiful”, with City winning five matches, Liverpool four and the other six finishing as draws.

Guardiola, whose side currently trail leaders Liverpool by five points but have a game in hand, said: “I will sleep better. Before playing against Liverpool was always a nightmare.

“Of course he will be missed. It was shock to everyone. As Manchester City we will lose something, we cannot define our period without him and without Liverpool.

“He is the best rival I have had in my career. The Premier League will miss his charisma and personality. I wish him all the best.”

Klopp plans to take a year off after leaving Liverpool and then see how he feels but has ruled out a return to management in England.

Guardiola, who took a year-long sabbatical from football after leaving Barcelona in 2012 before taking charge at Bayern Munich, has no doubts that the German will return to the dugout at some point.

The Spaniard added: “He will not admit it but he will be back. I know it. Maybe in 10 years time, when he’s charged his energy. I’m saying this personality will be back. With national team, I don’t know.

“Nine years in the same place, maybe he needs to breathe, to step back. At Barcelona I had that feeling.

“But football needs personalities like him. Hopefully next season we will have time to go out for dinner together.”

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!'"

Jamie Carragher believes former Liverpool team-mate Xabi Alonso is the favourite to replace outgoing manager Jurgen Klopp at Anfield.

Klopp has made the surprise announcement he will leave Liverpool at the end of the season, admitting he is “running out of energy” after entering into his ninth year in charge of the club.

While Carragher hopes the German can “go out with a bang”, attention inevitably turns to who will be his successor and Alonso and Brighton’s Roberto de Zerbi are the early contenders.

Carragher gives Alonso, 42, the edge due to his five-year playing stint at Liverpool and an impressive start to management with Bayer Leverkusen, who are currently top of the Bundesliga, ahead of Bayern Munich.

“We are losing one of the greatest managers in world football, one of the greatest managers Liverpool have ever had and it is a sad day, no doubt,” Carragher told Sky Sports.

“But in the same breath, we’ve got to be looking forward to the new man coming in, get behind him and support him. Bill Shankly left, Bob Paisley left, Kenny Dalglish left and Liverpool moves on.

“You can’t get away from Xabi Alonso because he’s so respected at Liverpool already for what he did as a player – he’s a Champions League winner, held himself with real class, he’s a World Cup winner.

“Right now, the job he’s done at Bayer Leverkusen, he looks like the brightest young thing in European football. It certainly makes him the front-runner.”

Liverpool have a five-point lead over Manchester City at the top of the Premier League – albeit having played a game more – and are into the Carabao Cup final and still in the FA Cup and Europa League.

Carragher, who made 737 appearances for the Reds, posted on X, formerly Twitter: “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!”

His thoughts were echoed by ex-Reds striker Michael Owen, who posted: “All great things inevitably come to an end but I thought it would be 2 or 3 years down the line. Memories to last a lifetime. One of the greatest managers ever.”

Bayern  boss Thomas Tuchel, who succeeded Klopp in 2015 when he left Borussia Dortmund ahead of joining Liverpool, said he was still trying to “process” the news when he was asked about it at his pre-match press conference on Friday, but added: “Kloppo is one of the best coaches of all time. He’s always managed to influence an entire club at all his clubs. It’s huge news.”

Klopp’s Manchester United counterpart Erik ten Hag hailed the “amazing job” the German had done on Merseyside.

“He has made an era there. He built the club, he brought the club back I think where they belong, so congratulations on that,” the Dutchman said.

Emma Hayes is set to step down after a lengthy and successful tenure as boss of Chelsea’s women’s team at the end of the season to move into international management with the United States.

And when asked about Klopp, Hayes told a press conference: “What an amazing job that man has done, he really has been a fantastic servant to Liverpool Football Club, and I’m sure everybody can respect the reasons for his decision.

“Not many people really understand what it takes to be a football manager and trust me, I can completely relate to the things he said.

“The players have to put the work in on the pitch and we have to off the pitch. Often coaching teams work long, long hours and big commitment. So as I said, I respect his decision and I wish him well.”

Liverpool host Norwich in the FA Cup at Anfield on Sunday.

Canaries boss David Wagner has known Klopp for more than 25 years after being team-mates at Mainz, and was best man at his friend’s wedding.

“I wasn’t surprised when he told me,” Wagner said at Norwich’s pre-match press conference on Friday afternoon. “I was happy for him, because I know how hard and how difficult for him this decision was and is.

“It shows a lot of personality, character and bravery as well. Only he knows what is best for him.

“We all know how exhausting and how challenging this business can be. If he knows it is best for him then I am happy for him and he will have a great time in front of him for sure.”

Jurgen Klopp will play no part in appointing his successor at Liverpool but is confident they will secure a “top manager”.

The club are currently without a sporting director but in 2015 Fenway Sports Group president Mike Gordon led the recruitment of Klopp.

A similar scenario is in place this time around but Klopp will not offer his input, saying: “No, why should I?

“It looks like I do all the work but I don’t, I can’t. That means all what we built in the last eight and half years is an incredibly strong structure behind the scenes so everything goes in the right direction.

“That’s the good news. That is one of the reasons why I can leave.

“My responsibility was so big that my idea was always to put everything in place to help with everything that this club gets stronger and stronger and we did that not to perfection but as good as we could.

“So many people work here with only one idea: to find a perfect solution for Liverpool and I am pretty sure that will happen.

“And the last thing they need is advice from the old man walking out who tells them ‘By the way, make sure you bring him in’. I will definitely not do that. I don’t want to be the passenger who is disturbing that process.

”They will get a top manager here, there will be good football.”

Former Reds midfielder Xabi Alonso – the current boss at Bundesliga leaders Bayer Leverkusen – has emerged as the immediate front-runner to take over from Klopp.

Liverpool chief executive Billy Hogan accepts it is a pivotal decision but believes they can get it right again.

“We will go through that process as we have done in the past and the same process that brought us Jurgen almost nine years ago,” he said.

“It is something we will do in private with the people here, with Mike Gordon in particular and when we get to a place when we have further news we will discuss it at that point but it won’t be a running commentary.

“We prefer to operate when we are ready to talk about things. Until that point, we won’t talk about other people or get into the name game.”

Hogan would also not commit to a timescale.

“From our perspective, I wouldn’t want to set an expectation,” he added.

“Number one because this is a process we have to go through and have done in the past.

“We make sure we look at all the information and all the data, we’ve done our proper due diligence and then make a decision and have an announcement at that time.

“I can’t commit to a timeline on it. It will go on in the background and we will ensure we are doing everything possible to make sure we make the right decision for the future of this football club.

“It is not to be a distraction. This is about making sure this campaign continues and the team continues to perform.”

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp insists even an unprecedented quadruple could not convince him to backtrack on his shock decision to quit at the end of the season.

The German stunned the footballing world by announcing he will depart at the end of the campaign with two years of his contract still to run, having already communicated his plans to owners Fenway Sports Group in November.

What made the news so surprising is that the club are arguably close to being back to the peak of their powers, with a five-point lead in the Premier League and a Carabao Cup final to come next month, while they have qualified for the last 16 of the Europa League and are one of the favourites for the FA Cup.

But, unlike Sir Alex Ferguson, who in the summer of 2001 announced his retirement only to backtrack at the end of the season, Klopp will not be moved from his stance, whether his team win it all or finish empty-handed.

“No! Alex Ferguson did that? I respect Alex a lot and I don’t know what drove him,” said the 56-year-old, unaware of the former Manchester United manager’s U-turn.

“I really thought a lot about it and because of our relationship – mine with the club – the situation is always clear.

“I have to make the decision at one point, because nobody else will, because of the trust and respect we have for each other and the owners knew I would take the decision.

“I don’t want to hang around and do the job somehow. I thought it through properly.

“I want everything this season, but it wouldn’t change my mind – and if we don’t win anything it wouldn’t change my mind.

“It’s a decision I made independent of any kind of results.”

Klopp has cited his waning energy to lift himself for the daily demands placed on him as the reason why he is calling it a day.

After finishing fifth the previous season, during which Klopp looked physically and emotionally drained, the Liverpool manager returned after the summer insisting he was re-energised and refreshed.

But as soon as plans started to be made for transfer targets and the next pre-season the German knew something was not right.

“My managerial skills are based on energy and emotion and that takes all of you and needs all of you. I am who I am and where I am because of how I am, with all the good and bad things, and if I cannot do it any more, stop it,” he said.

“You have to be the best version of yourself, especially for a club like Liverpool. I cannot do it on three wheels, it is not allowed, and I have never wanted to be a passenger.

“It was not my idea (to quit prematurely) when I signed a new contract, I was 100 percent convinced we would go until 2026.

“I under-estimated or judged it wrong because I thought my energy level was endless because it always was – and now it is not. Then we have to change.”

Klopp plans to take a year off and then see how he feels but has ruled out a return to management in England.

“Whatever will happen in the future I don’t know now, but no club, no country, for the next year, and no other English club ever,” he said.

“I can promise that, even if I have nothing to eat that will not happen.

Bayer Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso has emerged as the early favourite to succeed Klopp, although another former Liverpool midfielder Steven Gerrard, currently at Al-Ettifaq, has also been linked.

Alonso insisted on Friday his focus was solely on his current role and that he was in “the right place”.

Jurgen Klopp has promised Liverpool fans he will never manage another English club after he leaves Anfield in the summer “even if he has nothing to eat”.

The 56-year-old German has shocked the football world by announcing he will stand down as Reds boss after nearly nine years in charge at the end of the season, having steered the club to six major trophies including the Premier League title in 2020 and the Champions League in 2019.

At a press conference on Friday he also:

:: Said he would play no part in choosing his successor.
:: Insisted he would not make a U-turn on his decision to quit as Sir Alex Ferguson once did at Manchester United.
:: Talked about how he could not sustain the energy levels needed for top-level management beyond this season, insisting “you have to be the best version of yourself”.

Klopp allayed any concerns among Liverpool fans that he could return to manage one of their rivals.

“Whatever will happen in the future I don’t know now, but no club, no country, for the next year, and no other English club ever,” he said at a press conference on Friday afternoon.

“I can promise that, even if I have nothing to eat that will not happen.”

Speculation has already turned to who could succeed Klopp at Anfield, with Bayer Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso – a former Reds midfielder – installed as the early bookmakers’ favourite.

Alonso insisted on Friday his focus was solely on his current role and that he was in “the right place”. Former Reds captain Steven Gerrard, currently with Saudi Arabian side Al Ettifaq, has also been linked.

Klopp insists he will have no input whatsoever to Liverpool’s recruitment process to find his successor.

“The last thing they need is advice from the old man walking out, telling them ‘make sure you bring him in’ or whatever – I will definitely not do that,” Klopp said.

“I wish this club the very, very, very best.”

Jurgen Klopp will leave Liverpool at the end of the 2023-24 season.

In an emotional announcement, released via Liverpool's media channels on Friday, Klopp confirmed this campaign would be his last at the helm at Anfield.

Klopp, who is under contract at Liverpool until 2026, claimed he is running out of energy, and after nearly nine years in charge, he will be leaving the club as a legend.

While Liverpool will hope to round off the German's time in charge with a second Premier League title, and possibly further trophies – they are already in the EFL Cup final – the Reds will also have to face the daunting prospect of what comes next.

Regardless, Klopp is set to leave as one of the club's most successful managers. 

With the help of Opta data, we break down Klopp's time in charge.

An Anfield giant

Bill Shankly, Bob Paisley, Kenny Dalglish. Klopp will take pride and place among the list of great managers to have taken charge of one of England's most successful clubs.

Since replacing Brendan Rodgers in October 2015, Klopp has taken charge of 466 matches, winning 283 of those. His win percentage of 60.7 makes him the best Liverpool manager in that metric, at least as far back as Opta's records go.

Klopp has lost just 78 games, while drawing 105. His team have scored 972 goals, an average of 2.1 per match.

Not that it has always been easy. In his first season – 2015-16 – his win rate was 44.2 per cent. However, it has never dropped below 50 per cent in a single campaign since then, with the low mark coming last term (50 per cent).

Klopp is the only Liverpool manager to win each of the top-flight, European Cup/Champions League, FA Cup, and League Cup with the club, while he has five major honours as it stands, which ranks him behind only Dalglish, Paisley (both six) and the great Shankly (13).

 

His Liverpool side peaked between 2018 and 2020. After reaching the Champions League final in 2017-18, the Reds won their sixth European Cup the following season, before then breaking their Premier League duck in 2019-20, albeit they wrapped up that title behind closed doors. They had also won the Super Cup and Club World Cup earlier that term.

The FA Cup and EFL Cup were both won in 2022 en route to what could have been a historic quadruple.

Liverpool still have four trophies left to play for this season. They sit top of the Premier League as it stands; they will face Chelsea in the EFL Cup final; they are into the knockout stage of the Europa League and they have a home tie against Norwich City in the fourth round of the FA Cup coming up on Sunday.

Klopp's best season based purely on win percentage came in 2021-22, when Liverpool won a remarkable 73 per cent of their games in all competitions, only to fall short of pipping Manchester City to the title on the last day of the Premier League season, before losing to Real Madrid in the Champions League final.

A European master

Klopp started as he meant to go on when it came to European football with Liverpool, leading the Reds to the Europa League final in his first season in charge.

Though they lost to Sevilla on that occasion back in 2016, Liverpool have gone from strength to strength in continental competitions. They were undone by Gareth Bale's magic and Loris Karius' error in Kyiv in 2018, but left all in Europe in their wake when they overcame Tottenham in Madrid a year later, having signed Alisson to ensure they had a top-class goalkeeper between the posts.

Liverpool were back in the showpiece match three years later. Again, it was Madrid they faced, and again Los Blancos came out on top – Vinicius Junior's goal and Thibaut Courtois' heroics enough to deny Klopp his second Champions League crown.

 

Klopp will not manage Liverpool again in the Champions League, meaning his 61.5 win percentage (40/65) in the competition will be maintained. His Liverpool team have scored an incredible 144 Champions League goals - an average of 2.2 per game.

Unbeaten runs, Guardiola rivalry and dominating the derby

The rivalry between Klopp's Liverpool and Pep Guardiola's Man City has been the lifeblood of the Premier League over recent seasons. 

While Liverpool are not exactly cash-strapped, they do not have the state-backed wealth that City enjoy, yet Klopp has managed to keep the Reds highly competitive – on two occasions, they have finished just one point below City with points tallies that in almost any other circumstance would have surely seen them win the title.

Since Klopp's first Premier League game, Liverpool have taken 671 points, a tally that trails only City (716), while the Reds have a positive goal difference of 367 (675 goals for, 308 goals against).

As it stands, Klopp is the Premier League's third-most successful manager based on points per game, with his 2.12 ranking behind only Alex Ferguson (2.16) and Guardiola (2.34).

His next victory in the top flight will bring up his 200th as Liverpool manager, from what will be his 318th such match in charge.

Only Guardiola (18 with City between August and December 2017) has been on a winning run as long as Klopp has in the Premier League, with Liverpool having rallied off 18 straight wins between October 2019 and February 2020. The Reds had previously gone on a 17-game winning streak between March 2019 and October 2019, a run that was ended by a 1-1 draw with Manchester United. 

Liverpool went on a 44-game unbeaten streak, meanwhile, between January 2019 and February 2020. Arsene Wenger (49 games between May 2003 and October 2004) is the only Premier League manager to have gone more successive matches without defeat.

Klopp has gone up against Guardiola on 24 occasions, making City the team Liverpool have faced the most in his time at the club. He has claimed 10 wins (41.7 per cent), lost six times and drawn eight games.

 

Of the four other 'big six' clubs, Chelsea rank as Klopp's least favourite, with just a 27.3 per cent win record from 22 matches (six victories). Klopp has faced Manchester United, meanwhile, on 18 occasions, winning seven times (36.8 per cent).

Meanwhile, Klopp has dominant form in the Merseyside derby. From 18 such meetings, Liverpool have lost just once to Everton, with that defeat coming at Anfield, behind closed doors, in 2021. The Reds have beaten the Toffees 11 times under Klopp (61.1 per cent).

Of the current Premier League sides, Klopp has claimed 12 victories over Bournemouth from 15 meetings, with that win percentage (80) his best against any side he has faced over six times.

Superstar Salah, fearsome front threes and flying full-backs

The story goes that Klopp was not initially in favour of signing Mohamed Salah from Roma back in 2017, but his arm was twisted by Liverpool's then-recruitment guru, Michael Edwards. If that is indeed true, then Klopp will no doubt be thrilled he was swayed to bring in the Egyptian.

Salah has scored 204 goals in 332 appearances for Liverpool, 84 goals more than any other player under Klopp (Sadio Mane – 120 goals from 269 appearances).

 

Only Roberto Firmino (355) has played more times for the Reds in Klopp's tenure than Salah, whose 306 starts puts him out in front. The 31-year-old has totalled up 27,037 minutes, over 2,000 more than next-best Firmino (24,903).

Salah also tops the charts for goal contributions (286), having added 82 assists on top of his strike tally.

Firmino and Mane, Salah's partners in crime in what was arguably the most feared forward line in world football, chipped in with 182 and 157 goal contributions respectively.

Meanwhile, Klopp has given more debuts to teenagers than any manager in Liverpool's history (42). One of those teenagers was Trent Alexander-Arnold, who along with Andrew Robertson, became pivotal to Klopp's heavy metal football.

The flying full-backs have been assist machines: Alexander-Arnold has created 78 goals in 298 appearances, while Robertson has crafted 63 from 275 games.

Just Firmino and Salah have played more minutes under Klopp than Alexander-Arnold (24,323) and Robertson (23,498). 

What's next?

Whoever replaces Klopp has big shoes to fill, and this might well end up being Salah's last season at Anfield too, as Saudi Pro League clubs circle.

Xabi Alonso and Julian Nagelsmann have been some early names touted around, but until the end of May, it will be all about the Kop bidding goodbye to Klopp.

He deserves a hero's farewell.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp joked his close friend David Wagner asked him to make major changes for Norwich’s visit to Anfield in the FA Cup.

Klopp and Wagner have known each other more than 25 years – Wagner was best man at his wedding – after being team-mates at Mainz but more recently have found themselves on opposite sides of the technical area.

Wagner was manager for Huddersfield’s brief stay in the Premier League but lost all three matches against Liverpool.

Now he brings the Canaries to Anfield for a fourth-round tie on Sunday looking for a favour he knows he will not get from his long-time friend.

“We had already conversations about it. He asked me for massive rotation. I told him that doesn’t help, obviously,” said Klopp of Wagner’s request to face a weakened team.

“It’s cool to have the game. When he worked at Huddersfield, he watched a lot of games here in the stadium, when they didn’t play he was here, and now he’s back.

“We didn’t see each other for a long time, the next time probably would have been in the summer, so now it’s good to catch up and to lock horns again.”

Wagner has a 40 per cent win ratio since taking over at Carrow Road last January but, after a sticky patch between September and November when his side won just twice, he has got them back in form.

Wednesday’s defeat to fellow Championship promotion-chasers Leeds was only their fourth loss in 16 matches.

“(He did a) really good job but a really difficult job. I think the start of the season was really good and then they lose more or less their offensive department and that’s when they struggled a bit,” said Klopp.

“Now they are in touching distance of the play-off spots and they obviously have big games coming up.

“The Championship season itself is already pretty intense but if you have a longer FA Cup run in it, it’s obviously very similar to a very successful Premier League season with international football or something like that, because of the amount of teams in the league and the amount of games you have.

“I follow it as much as I can because I’m just interested in everything he is doing.”

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