Jurgen Klopp LIVE: Liverpool manager announces his departure sparking succession debate

A further statement from Liverpool FC:

“Liverpool FC can confirm Jorg Schmadtke’s tenure as sporting director will come to an end following the culmination of the January transfer window.

Schmadtke joined the Reds last June, overseeing the club’s football operations department and leading on incoming and outgoing transfers, having previously performed a similar role at Wolfsburg, Cologne, Hannover and Alemannia Aachen.

Fenway Sports Group president Mike Gordon said: ‘We would like to place on record our gratitude to Jorg for the important role he has played since joining Liverpool last summer.

‘He has made a valuable contribution, both in terms of the support he provided to Jürgen Klopp and the assistance and guidance given to our outstanding football operations department.

‘As well as departing with our appreciation for his efforts, we would also like to take this opportunity to offer Jorg and his family our very best wishes for the future.’

Schmadtke said: ‘Liverpool is a very special club so to have had the opportunity to work here has been a huge honour for me, even though I knew from the outset that it would only be for a short period.

‘I would like to thank everyone – the owners, manager, staff, players and fans – for the support I have been given and offer my best wishes for the rest of this season.’”

It can’t be overstated how impressive Klopp’s time at Dortmund was, especially considering how dominant Bayern Munich had been – and have been since.

It is also strange to think back to the day he signed with Liverpool, after seven years at Dortmund, and to realise he has been at Anfield for even longer.

Klopp’s managerial career began at Mainz in 2001, shortly after he retired from playing for the club – which sat in the 2 Bundesliga at the time.

In 2003/04, Klopp secured promotion with Mainz, and he would later move to Borussia Dortmund in 2008/09. There, in a seven-year spell, he won the Bundesliga twice (2011, 2012) and the Pokal once (2012).

Klopp also won the German Super Cup with Dortmund twice (2013, 2014).

Furthermore, Klopp led Dortmund to runners-up finishes in the Champions League in 2013 and the Pokal in 2014 and 2015.

N.B. The 2023/24 season is still under way, and Klopp joined Liverpool in October of the 2015/16 season, but here is a look at Liverpool’s Premier League finishes under the coach:

Klopp also said this, today: “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.”

The shock news that Jurgen Klopp will step down as Liverpool manager at the end of the season leaves the Anfield club seeking a successor for the German.

Klopp’s nine-year tenure in charge has seen him transform Liverpool into consistent title challengers, guiding them to Premier League and Champions League triumphs. Their 2019/20 domestic triumph was a first league title for 30 years.

Filling Klopp’s shoes will be a tough task, but there a number of intriguing candidates to succeed him. Assistant Pep Lijnders, thought by some to be a successor in waiting, has also confirmed that he will be leaving the club to pursue his own managerial ambitions.

Here are some of the names who could be in the frame to replace Klopp…

As well as the trophies mentioned in that last post, Liverpool are very much in the Premier League title race this season, and this week they sealed a spot in the Carabao Cup final – where Chelsea await.

The Reds remain in the Europa League, too.

In fact, in Klopp’s first season at Anfield, he guided the team to the final of the Europa League and Carabao Cup, only to lose both matches.

His other runners-up finishes with Liverpool include the Champions League in 2018 (a year before the German finally got his hands on the trophy) and in 2022. Both defeats came by Real Madrid.

Liverpool have also finished second in the Premier League twice under Klopp, coming so close on both occasions – losing by one point both times.

Klopp joined Liverpool in October 2015, replacing Brendan Rodgers, having left Borussia Dortmund a few months earlier.

After steadily building his own squad, his first trophy with the Reds came in 2019, when they won the Champions League with a victory over Tottenham. Later that year, Klopp guided Liverpool to the Super Cup and Club World Cup.

A season later, the German helped to end the club’s 30-year wait for a Premier League title.

In 2021/2022, Klopp and Liverpool achieved a domestic-cup double, beating Chelsea on penalties in both the FA and Carabao Cup finals.

Later that year, they also won the Community Shield.