Jurgen Klopp to retire?! Departing Liverpool boss hints he could call time on management career as he vows never to take charge of another club in England

The 56-year-old Premier League and Champions League-winning coach stunned the football world when announcing that he will be leaving Anfield at the end of the 2023-24 campaign. His current contract was due to run until 2026, but that deal will not be honoured as Klopp feels the time has come for him to walk away.

Inevitably, questions are being asked of what the future will hold for Klopp. Various names are being offered up as potential successors to him on Merseyside, while the man himself is being mooted for international management roles. He is adamant that no return to the Premier League will be made, but cannot rule out another dugout being filled at some stage once he has taken in a year-long break - even if right now he can't imagine managing anywhere else.

Klopp has told LFC TV of his future plans: “If you ask me, ‘Will you ever work as a manager again?’ I would say now no. But I don’t know obviously how that will feel because I never had the situation. What I know definitely – I will never, ever manage a different club in England than Liverpool, 100 per cent. That’s not possible. My love for this club, my respect for the people is too big. I couldn’t. I couldn’t for a second think about it. There’s no chance. This is part of my life, we are part of the family, we feel home here. There’s no chance to do that. But all the rest, will I ever work again? Of course, I know myself, I cannot just sit around. I will find something else maybe to do. But I will not manage a club or a country at least for a year, that’s not possible, I cannot do that and I don’t want to. That’s all.”

Klopp added on why he had to take the decision to step down himself, with nobody at Anfield about to push him out: “It’s such a strange situation because I have to explain that I don’t have energy anymore, but now I’m sitting here and I have energy and I’m buzzing for everything that’s happening here. But because of the relationship we have, I have to think about this. Because nobody will sack me, I have to make this decision by myself. The responsibility I have for everything here tells me I’m not the right one for the future, so I have to tell. As much as I wish I would be. And that’s what I do here. It’s completely strange.”

It is possible that Klopp could sever ties with Liverpool after collecting four more winners’ medals, with the Reds still in the hunt for Premier League, FA Cup, Carabao Cup and Europa League crown in 2024. Whatever happens, his place among the Anfield immortals is secure.