Liverpool coach Jurgen Klopp has hinted that he would be leaving Anfield at the end of the season, saying that he has run out of energy to continue on the job.
Klopp,56, joined Liverpool in 2015, winning the club a first Premier League title in 2020 and a sixth Champions League crown in 2019.
‘I can understand that it’s a shock for a lot of people at this moment, when you hear it for the first time, but obviously I can explain it – or at least try to explain it,’ he began.
‘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. But that I still take this decision shows you that I am convinced it is the one I have to take.
‘It is that I am, how can I say it, running out of energy. I have no problem now, obviously, I knew already for longer that I will have to announce it at one point, but I am absolutely fine now. I know that I cannot do the job again and again and again and again,” he said.
The reds are now looking for a possible replacement and former midfielder Xabi Alonso who is doing a great job with Bayer Leverkusen in the German league is first on their list.
Reacting to the speculations Bayer Leverkusen CEO Fernando Carro said they won’t be in the way of the former Spain international if it was his desire to leave.
“No, we don’t need a clause, we have a very good relationship with Xabi and he knows that at the end of the day, we’re not going to force someone to stay if they don’t want to,” Carro said in an interview with broadcaster Ben Jacobs two months ago.
“We want him to feel so happy and so good with us and that he only wants to stay and this is our objective. There is nothing on paper [for him to leave] but sometimes agreements that are not on paper are agreements as well. We know that if he needs to move in the future, we’ll be able to talk to each other but I hope that he will stay.”
However, Alonso said for now he is not bothered by the speculations: “Speculation is normal. My focus is here in Leverkusen,” he told a press conference ahead of his side’s Bundesliga match with Borussia Monchengladbach.
“First of all, it was a huge surprise. I have huge respect for Jurgen, huge admiration for what he has achieved and the way he has achieved it.
“At the moment I’m really happy here. I’m enjoying my work here, I’m feeling that each day is a challenge, each game is a challenge.
“We are in an intense and beautiful journey here in Leverkusen and I’m trying to give my best to help my players be ready for the next thing and that is my goal.
“What is coming next, I don’t know. I’m not in that moment to think about the next step. I’m thinking about right now and I think I’m in a great place and I’m enjoying it.
“I think it is the right place and that is all I can say. What is going to happen in the future I don’t know and I don’t really care, to be honest.”
Alonso played over 200 times for the Reds between 2004 and 2009, winning the Champions League and the FA Cup before joining Real Madrid.
