Jurgen Klopp insists he will not interfere in the selection process to decide his successor as Liverpool manager.
Klopp shocked the football world on Friday, January 26, when he announced that he would resign at the end of the 2023/24 season, concluding eight and a half glorious years on Merseyside.
Speculation is already rife over who could replace the 56-year-old in the Anfield dugout, with former Liverpool midfielder and current Bayer Leverkusen manager Xabi Alonso among the favourites.
Succession planning after a tenure like Klopp’s is rarely simple, with David Moyes struggling under the weight of being Alex Ferguson’s “chosen one” at Manchester United in 2013/14, to name one example.
However, Klopp believes the collective strength of a Liverpool organization that has been built around him is of great use to the club and means his opinion will not and should not be sought.
“In this world, especially in football, we have a few faces most of the time,” he stated. “[Other people] They do amazing work that you don’t see that often. This is how this type of business is lived.
“It seems like I do all the work. I don’t. I can’t and I don’t. It means that everything we built over the last eight and a half years is an incredibly solid structure behind the scenes. Everything is going in the right direction and that It’s one of the reasons I can leave.
“My idea was always to put everything in its place to help in everything this club [needs to] get stronger and stronger and stronger. We did it, not perfect but the best we could.
“A lot of people work here and with one idea: to find a perfect solution for Liverpool FC. I’m pretty sure that will happen. The last thing they need is advice from the old man who comes out and says, ‘Somehow, make sure…’ I definitely won’t do that.
“As you know, on most things I have an opinion and on most things I haven’t said anything yet. So I don’t have any problem with that. I wish for this future, only for this club, the best.” and now I’m going to try to help them have the best season possible.”
He added: “There is a wonderful future ahead of us. That’s all I want. And I won’t be the passenger who disrupts that process.”
Klopp’s talk of keeping his advice on certain matters could be interpreted by some as a swipe at Liverpool’s owners, Fenway Sports Group.
Former Reds defender Jose Enrique told Sky Sports News he suspected a rift with ownership was behind Klopp’s decision, but the former Borussia Dortmund boss launched a staunch defense of his employers.
“I saw him this morning, surprisingly when he came out, José Enrique, who I really like and obviously has a big heart at Liverpool, said that, whatever I say, it’s about FSG. I can tell you, José, it’s not.” Klopp said.
“It has nothing to do with it. This time, it would be very easy in this job to blame the owners and say that we would have won more trophies if FSG had spent more. Was I always happy with every second of what we did? Exactly? No But it was absolutely fine.
“This club is very different now because we built two stands, which will last forever. If there is no earthquake, they will stay there. The stadium is wonderful. We built this training ground where you are. Wonderful. This will remain for a long time. The next ones 40 or 50 years. Everything is ready. We did what we did correctly.
“That we don’t win [the 2018/19 Premier League] Having 97 points or not winning the Champions League final had nothing to do with a player not being there or if we had spent money on another. I 100 percent understand that, as a fan, it’s okay. As a professional you can’t be like that. You just can’t.
“If you blame anyone for not winning the Champions League three times in a row, it’s me. It’s my job to make that happen, to work with the team we had. And not win the league with 97 or [in 2021/22] 94 points, that’s me. Nobody else. Because they all brought us to that point. Have a team that can add 97 points and qualify for the Champions League [final] It is outstanding.”
Liverpool chief executive Billy Hogan was at Klopp’s side at his Friday press conference and refused to set a timeframe for how long it would take to secure his successor.
“From our perspective, I wouldn’t want to set expectations,” he said. “This is a process we have to go through. It’s a process we’ve gone through in the past. “The way we operate as a football club is to make sure we’ve looked at all the information, all the data, done our due diligence. and then we will make a decision and make our announcement at that time.
“I understand the question, but I cannot commit to a timetable. It will continue in the background and you can be sure that we will do everything we can, as Jurgen said, to make the right decision for the future of this football club. That is the way we have always operated and this is how we will operate through this process.
“At the same time, it’s not about a distraction. It’s about ensuring that this campaign continues and that the team continues to perform. When we have something to say, we will have something to say at that time.”
