In a special exclusive column for CaughtOffside, former Liverpool attacker Stan Collymore discusses football’s biggest talking at present — Jurgen Klopp’s decision to quit Liverpool at the end of the season.
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Stunned but not surprised…
Although I’m really shocked at the timing of Liverpool’s announcement, I am not entirely surprised.
When you’ve been the manager of Liverpool and have had the success Jurgen Klopp has; you’ve won everything, there will inevitably come a time when you question what more you can do. The environment is so intense and so demanding you need to be on your A game 24/7 and that will obviously take its toll.
He also isn’t getting any younger; he’s 56 years old now and would have almost certainly gone home at times and said to his family ‘I don’t know how much longer can I keep doing this for’ — so I do understand his decision, but he’ll obviously be a massive loss to Liverpool. The fact they’re losing the coaching staff is also going to be a big blow. The club is going into a new era next season and we all have to wait to see how they handle it.
There is no denying it though — the timing of the club’s announcement has been strange. Many fans are wondering why they’ve not waited until the end of the season to confirm his departure, especially when they’re fighting on all fronts and leading the Premier League. Well, for me, it’s quite simple, if Klopp is going, he’s going. Making this announcement now should only spark one reaction from the players — and that is to win, and win it all. Obviously, we don’t know how many trophies Liverpool are going to win this season if any at all, but there is now a huge incentive for the squad to go out and perform for one of the greatest ever managers to grace the game.
What next?
I think for Klopp the next year or two is likely to see him go under the radar. He might pop up at sporting events around the world from time to time, but ultimately I think he’ll back away from management for a while.
He came out and said straight away he’ll never manage another club in England and I believe him. Even though I believe Klopp will return to management in the future, I don’t think we’ll ever see him back in the Premier League — unless it’s for Liverpool.
I suspect he’ll end up at Bayern Munich, or maybe even as Germany’s national manager if Julian Nagelsmann doesn’t work out. There is a possibility Barcelona and Real Madrid will want him — I think if Real Madrid in particular were to be offered the chance to hire Klopp right now, they’d take it, with no hesitation.
But I go back to my earlier point — I understand Klopp’s decision to step away from the game, but I don’t believe this is the last we’ll see of him on the touchline.
Xabi Alonso would jump at the chance to manage Liverpool…
Xabi Alonso is the early favourite to replace Klopp. No surprises there — he’s doing an amazing job in Germany.
I saw Fernando Carro, the Leverkusen CEO, came out and said ‘agreements that aren’t on paper are still agreements’, which certainly did nothing to cool speculation. Firstly, I am not quite sure why he chose to use those words, but he probably knows the position the club could find itself in. If Liverpool reaches out to Alonso, no disrespect to Bayer Leverkusen, but I am sure he will go to Carro and tell him he wants to leave.
From my point of view, I really don’t think anything Leverkusen say will make the slightest bit of difference. Alonso is the only man I see replacing Klopp at Anfield.
Mo Salah’s summer decision wouldn’t have affected Klopp…
One of the biggest talking points following Klopp’s announcement has been what it may mean for Mo Salah. Will he go to Saudi in the summer? Will he stay? Will he sign a new contract? — Nobody knows, but I am not sure Klopp’s departure has anything to do with whatever Salah decides.
I think the fact Klopp has done it all and won it all, along with other factors, such as having to do everything the hard way in comparison with his biggest rival Pep Guardiola has played a part over the years.
Obviously, Liverpool are a top club and they’ve got a lot of money, but Klopp has probably felt at times like he is pushing water up a hill. Salah and Sadio Mane turned out to be incredible transfers, but Liverpool’s owners hardly broke the bank for either, and not only that, but he couldn’t keep the pair together — he had to lose one of them, which obviously turned out to be Mane to Bayern Munich.
Those kinds of things don’t happen at City, where not only are you buying on a lesser budget, but you’re also having to offload to keep everything ticking over. There must have been some really frustrating times for Klopp over the years.
So regardless of whether or not Salah does end up playing in Saudi Arabia’s Pro League, I think the time probably is right for Klopp to move on and enjoy the next chapter of his life.
Ha ha…yeah right Stan,Klopp has hard it so tough compared to Pep…Klopp has been superb but let’s face it -he broke the world transfer record for a goalkeeper and VVD,not too mention spending £80m on Nunez…spent millions on the midfield last season,Jota,Gakpo,Diaz ..maybe they were all free transfers or maybe that magic Coutinho money is back working again ?🤣
City’s Foden,Bobb and Alvarez forward line that was so effective against Spurs in the FA cup cost less than £20m,City have made a fortune from selling academy players in the last five years and are the best team in the world at buying “decent” players and turning them into superstars worth three times more ..-but don’t let that fact get in the way of the usual “it’s all about money “ narrative you’ve been pushing about Pep and City for the last ten years.Try reading the numbers rather than peddling the same old cliches.