Before leaving Liverpool at the conclusion of the season, Jürgen Klopp has provided further details about his future plans. After nine years in charge, the German declared in January that he will leave Anfield this summer.
The search for Klopp’s replacement at Liverpool is still ongoing, since the manager can only oversee a maximum of 12 Premier League and Europa League games remaining. Recently, Rúben Amorim, the manager of Sporting CP, has emerged as the front-runner to succeed him.
It has always been Klopp’s insistence that he will wait at least a year to make any decisions. He insisted that he would never manage another Premier League team and stated that he was “running out of energy” for the decision he had made.
Before Liverpool’s first leg of the Europa League quarterfinal matchup with Atalanta on Thursday, Klopp was questioned about if he had thought about taking over at a Serie A team. “The only Italian thing I know is Italian food,” he retorted. I have no plans to pursue a management position in the near future. I have no plans right now, but ask me in a year.”
Klopp had been considering his resignation since the difficult 2022–2023 season and had informed the club’s management of his plan to stand down back in November. He stated in his January announcement: “I was relieved to make the decision because I hadn’t anticipated it. I’m not feeling as attached as I will be when I finally go. Not only did I have to inform the owners, but also the players and supporters, which were two crucial tasks.
“I had to tell some people slightly earlier and there were some tears. That’s normal. It’s the right thing to do and the right moment because the club needs time to plan the future while we sort the present. Relief is not there anymore because I knew before how I felt.”
Even though Klopp has said he wants to take a year off, there is still a lot of talk regarding him managing the German national team. Although Julian Nagelsmann will lead Germany in the 2024 Summer Olympics, his future is still up in the air.
In 2020, Rudi Voller, who recently renewed his term as the German FA’s director, complimented Klopp and predicted that the Reds manager would eventually lead his nation.
Liverpool.com says: Klopp is likely to stick to his word and take at least a year away from management. Given the demands he has been under at Anfield for the last nine years, few can blame him. It will be interesting to see where he ends up and seeing him in a different dugout may take some getting used to.