21 best Champions League players of the season - ranked

Football on TV in India: Matches to watch & live stream

How Dortmund defied the odds to reach the UCL final

Claim Your Exclusive 1xBet Promo Code 2024: 1GOALIN for ₹66,000

Bellingham & the best debut seasons at Real Madrid - ranked

CR7 loses record! Piece of goalscoring history snatched away

Man Utd snap up teenage wonderkid with record-breaking father

Mourinho is BACK! Ex-Roma boss' new role confirmed

'Don't think I have recovered' - Sancho reveals what haunts him

Abraham transfer listed by Roma amid injury nightmare

Inter Miami issue Messi injury update for St Louis City

Roque ready to make Barca U-turn after Flick's appointment

Article continues belowArticle continues belowArticle continues below<ul><li>Klopp to leave Liverpool in the summer</li><li>Told players before making public statement</li><li>Van Dijk says news was "tough to accept"</li></ul>

WATCH: Emotional Virgil van Dijk becomes first Liverpool player to break silence following Jurgen Klopp’s exit bombshell - but still no word from Mohamed Salah

Klopp said this week that he will be <a href="https://www.goal.com/en-gb/lists/pep-guardiola-premier-league-xabi-alonso-winners-losers-jurgen-klopp-liverpool-exit/blt408852c414b4a24f" target="_blank">leaving his role as Liverpool manager at the end of the season</a>. The German manager informed his players of his decision before making a public statement and Van Dijk has admitted it was difficult to accept the news.

WHAT HAPPENED?

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Virgil on the boss 🗣️ <a href="https://t.co/mw1TwnasTu">pic.twitter.com/mw1TwnasTu</a>— Liverpool FC (@LFC) <a href="https://twitter.com/LFC/status/1751214721846423578?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 27, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

WATCH THE CLIP

"It's a hard one to take, because the manager means so much for us, to me, to the club, to the whole Premier League I think," Van Dijk said. "But he made the decision for him and his family. It was always going to be a tough one and it was definitely the case."He added: "Yeah, he told us in private of course, and all of us were together. Like I said, it's a hard one to take but our mindset is to focus on business. We have a lot of targets still to achieve this year and why not finish the season on a high and together with celebrations for the boss as well?"

WHAT VAN DIJK SAID ABOUT KLOPP

Klopp will leave the Anfield club after almost nine years in charge. The former Borussia Dortmund manager has guided the club to success in the Premier League, FA Cup and League Cup in England. His team also reached three Champions League finals, winning on one occasion.

THE BIGGER PICTURE

Klopp will attempt to lead Liverpool to a second Premier League title this season. The Merseyside team are top of the table and <a href="https://www.goal.com/en-gb/lists/conor-bradley-ben-doak-liverpool-academy-stars-jurgen-klopp/blt3d8b44766e7c3bd0" target="_blank">five points clear of reigning champions Manchester City</a>, who have a game in hand.

WHAT NEXT FOR KLOPP?

WATCH: Emotional Virgil van Dijk becomes first Liverpool player to break silence following Jurgen Klopp’s exit bombshell - but still no word from Mohamed Salah | Goal.com India

Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk revealed his reaction to Jurgen Klopp&apos;s announcement that the coach will leave the club this summer.