Liverpool insider sheds light on ‘extraordinary’ Buvac exit

Liverpool assistant manager Zeljko Buvac has not stepped back from his role due to ‘any specific fall-out with Klopp’.

Liverpool confirmed on Monday that Buvac, Klopp’s right-hand man for the last 17 years, will be absent for the rest of the season due to personal reasons.

It was claimed late on Sunday that the 56-year-old had resigned after a ‘dispute’ with long-time friend and colleague Klopp.

But Paul Joyce of The Times has shed some further light on a situation he describes as ‘extraordinary’.

He reports that Buvac ‘appears to be on the verge of leaving the club’, despite Liverpool themselves insisting he is still their employee.

Joyce adds that Buvac ‘has become increasingly distant and withdrawn around the club’, and has been less vocal during matches.

There has been no particular disagreement between Buvac and Klopp, but their professional relationship appears to have broken down somewhat.

The assistant manager was once ‘heavily involved’ in substitutions during games, but Liverpool must now make do without the man Klopp dubbed “the brain” of his coaching team.

It is claimed that the Liverpool manager is looking to make some tweaks to his backroom staff at Anfield, although it is likely that the potential departure of Buvac was never considered part of that.

More from Planet Sport: 

The day Thomas Muster was SO good Boris Becker made doping allegation (Tennis365)

The story of the ex-Man City Academy graduate now a head of maths (Planet Football)

India v Pakistan at the World Cup: A history in pictures (Cricket365)