Jurgen Klopp has reiterated his plan to wait until 2024 before considering his future at Liverpool, but remains open to all possibilities.
Jurgen Klopp has changed the face of Liverpool and the Premier League since his arrival in 2015. During his earlier press conferences, the German promised the Merseysiders a major trophy would arrive in four years and held up his end by delivering the UEFA Champions League in 2019.
Klopp ended Liverpool’s desperate wait for the Premier League title in the following year, as the Reds were crowned domestic champions in the 2019/20 season. In the last few years, the German tactician has been part of a great rivalry with Manchester City counterpart Pep Guardiola.
Despite some shortcomings this season, Liverpool firmly remain in the title race as they wait for Manchester City to slip up. The Reds are six points behind Guardiola’s men, although with a game in hand, they could potentially reduce the gap to three points, with the clash at the Etihad later in the season tipped as the potential title-decider.
Many questions have been asked about Klopp’s long-term future at the club, with his contract expiring in 2024. The Liverpool manager has refused to speculate about his future after his current contract expires. His comments on Liverpool’s official site made his plans for the immediate future very clear.
Jurgen Klopp on factors that would persuade him to stay at Liverpool beyond 2024: "If I have the energy levels for it. It is is important. But the plan is at the moment to do 2024 – 'thank you very much'…”, he said. ? #LFC pic.twitter.com/HINrAhyrCS
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) March 4, 2022
Klopp said, “The plan is still the same. I realised when I answered, I thought, ‘Oh God!’ but I couldn’t get it back, I was just not in the situation. The plan is still the same; nothing changed really, and if I decide – if I decide – then to leave, or maybe I get the sack in 2023, but if I decide to leave in 2024, it has nothing to do with the quality of the squad.”
“So, ‘Oh God, I have to manage them’, or ‘Better to stop than managing them’ – it is not like this, it has nothing to do with that. All the things we do are for the long term, all the things we do are for the long term.”
“This club must be even better when especially I am not here anymore, and that is the plan. That’s what we are working on, so it is not so important how long I stay; it is much more important than what we do until then.”
Klopp will pit his wits against David Moyes when Liverpool take on West Ham United in the Premier League, as they look to keep up the pressure at the top of the table.