Jurgen Klopp has said he decided he would leave Liverpool because he is "running out of energy"
The German shocked the football world by announcing that he will end his nine-year stay at Anfield at the end of the season. He added that he informed the club in November of his decision.
"I can understand that that’s a shock for a lot of people in this moment, when you hear it for the first time, but obviously I can explain it – or at least try to explain it," Klopp told the club's official website.
"I love absolutely everything about this club, I love everything about the city, I love everything about our supporters, I love the team, I love the staff. I love everything. But that I still take this decision shows you that I am convinced it is the one I have to take. It is that I am, how can I say it, running out of energy.
"I have no problem now, obviously, I knew it already for longer that I will have to announce it at one point, but I am absolutely fine now.
"I know that I cannot do the job again and again and again and again. After the years we had together and after all the time we spent together and after all the things we went through together, the respect grew for you, the love grew for you and the least I owe you is the truth – and that is the truth. That’s it, pretty much.
"I told the club already in November. I have to explain a little bit that maybe the job I do people see from the outside, I’m on the touchline and in training sessions and stuff like this, but the majority of all the things happen around these kind of things.
"That means a season starts and you plan pretty much the next season already. When we sat there together talking about potential signings, the next summer camp and can we go wherever, the thought came up, ‘I am not sure I am here then any more’ and I was surprised myself by that."
Klopp: Why I've made decision to leave Liverpool
Liverpool's struggles last season where they were not in the title race and finished fifth had an influence on Klopp's decision, he said.
"I obviously start thinking about it," he said. "It didn’t start [then], but of course last season was kind of a super-difficult season and there were moments when at other clubs probably the decision would have been, ‘Come on, thank you very much for everything but probably we should split here, or end it here.’ That didn’t happen here, obviously."
Klopp has revived the club's fortunes this season and they currently lead the league, five points ahead of their nearest challenger, Manchester City.
"For me it was super, super, super-important that I can help to bring this team back onto the rails," Klopp said. "It was all I was thinking about. When I realised pretty early that happened, it’s a really good team with massive potential and a super age group, super characters and all that, then I could start thinking about myself again and that was the outcome. It is not what I want to [do], it is just what I think is 100 per cent right. That’s it.
"In an ideal world I wouldn’t have said anything to anybody until the end of the season, win everything and then say goodbye. That’s not possible. In the world we are living in, it’s not possible to keep things like this secret; it’s maybe a surprise that we could keep it [a secret] until now."
To Liverpool fans, Klopp asked that they focus their support on the team and not him.
"The message to supporters: I really would like you to accept the decision. That would be nice. And then if I can ask for one more thing, after telling you don’t sing my song too early, after telling you be loud in the stadium, stuff like this, if I could ask you for one more thing it would be: don’t make these games about me, because there’s no need. The only thing I always wanted was the full support for the team, it’s not for me.
"I know about our relationship, I don’t need any kind of proof. We will have a moment, maybe the last matchday here or somewhere else – I mean in other countries or other competitions. There’s enough time to do these kinds of things. Let’s now really go for it. The outside world want to use this decision, laugh about it, want to disturb us.
"We are Liverpool, we went through harder things together. And you went through harder things before me. Let’s make a strength of it. That would be really cool. Let’s squeeze everything out of this season and have another thing to smile about when we look back in the future. Thank you."
As to whether he might become a manager of another club in England, Klopp ruled such a notion out categorically.
"‘Will you ever work as a manager again?’ I would say now no," he said. "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."
