The fairytale is over: Jürgen Klopp has left Liverpool after nine years in charge of the club.
The journey that started in 2015 following his departure from German Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund, came to an end with a 2 – 0 home win over Wolverhampton Wanderers in game week 38 of the 2023/24 Premier League season.
Goals from Alexis Mac Allister and Jarell Quansah wrapped up the Klopp era, after which Anfield stuck together to send off the man who will go down in history as one of Liverpool’s most successful managers as well as the man with the fourth-longest tenure as the club’s manager.
Here is every word the 56-year-old said as he bid farwell to the Anfield faithful:
“I’m completely surprised, I thought I’m already in pieces, to be honest, but I’m not. I’m so happy, I can’t believe it.
“I’m so happy about you all, about the atmosphere, about the game, about being part of this family, about us, how we celebrated this day. It’s just incredible. Thank you so much.
“It doesn’t feel like an end, it just feels like the start because I saw today a football team playing full of talent, full of youth, full of creativity, full of desire, full of greed. That’s one part of development, that’s what you need obviously.
“But obviously since a few weeks I get absolutely too much attention, it feels really uncomfortable. But in this time I realised a lot of things. People told me that I turned them from doubters to believers. That’s not true. Believing is an active act: you have to do it yourself. I just said we have to. You did it. That’s a big difference.
“And nobody tells you now to stop believing. Because this club is in a better moment than ever? Maybe ever – I have to ask Kenny [Dalglish]! Since a long time, let me say it like that.
“We have this wonderful stadium, we have this wonderful training centre. We have you – the superpower of world football. Wow.
“We decide if we are worried or excited. We decide if we believe or don’t believe. We decide if we trust or we don’t trust. And since today I’m one of you and I keep believing in you. I stay a believer, 100 per cent.”
Klopp’s final words were: “I’m one of you now. I love you to bits. On my jumper is ‘Thank you Luv’ and ‘I will never walk alone again’. Thank you for that! You are the best people in the world. Thank you!”
