Jurgen Klopp: ‘Fed up’ Liverpool manager nearly ‘quit’ during ‘dog year’; reason for U-turn revealed
According to reports, Jurgen Klopp was ‘close to quitting’ Liverpool during the 2022/23 campaign with his side enduring a “dog year”.
It was announced on Friday morning that this season will be Klopp‘s last as Liverpool manager.
The German’s reign has been littered with success and he has not been made to endure too many low points.
But the 2022/23 campaign was rough for Liverpool. After challenging for the quadruple in 2021/22, the Reds made a poor start to the campaign before ending up fifth in the Premier League.
Klopp oversaw a huge overhaul in the summer as Liverpool rebuilt their midfield. They ended up spending around £200m to sign Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai, Wataru Endo and Ryan Gravenberch in the summer.
Liverpool’s revamped midfield have clicked right away as the English giants have moved to the top of the Premier League table and reached the Carabao Cup final. They also remain in contention in the Europa League and FA Cup.
Despite this, Klopp has decided to move on in the summer and The Times‘ Jonathan Northcroft is to be believed, he came ‘close to quitting’ Liverpool last season.
In his column on the departing manager, it is claimed: ‘[His wife Ulla] loves Merseyside and their life in the coastal village of Formby and persuaded him to stay when he was close to quitting midway through last season.
‘Fatigued and mindful of his health, Klopp found 2022-23 a “dog year”, as he put it in his press conference on Friday.’
Northcroft added: ‘Klopp needed to rebuild his team, especially its midfield, and was fed up with the relentless schedule and noise. Among the experiences that disillusioned him was one where, during Liverpool’s defeat at Old Trafford in August, a Liverpool fan stood behind Ulla yelling negatives about him throughout the game.
‘He was snapping at benign journalists in press conferences and overseeing performances that baffled him, like a 3-0 defeat against Wolves for which, he said afterwards, “I have no words.”
‘But, with Ulla leading those who encouraged him to continue, Klopp regathered his fight and threw himself into the job with fresh energy, pushing Liverpool up the table and with help from an interim sporting director recruited to assist him — an old associate, Jörg Schmadtke — overhauled his squad, buying an entirely new midfield.’
Bayer Leverkusen’s Xabi Alonso is among the leading contenders to replace Klopp. A report from Football Insider has claimed that the Spaniard is Liverpool’s ‘number one choice’ and they plan to ‘approach’ him in the coming days to gauge his interest in the manager’s job.
