Former Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp said he plans to retreat into a private life following his departure from the Premier League club and has no immediate plans to return to management.
Klopp bid farewell to the Anfield faithful in a long address after Liverpool’s 2-0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers on Sunday and led the crowd in a song for incoming manager Arne Slot, who has enormous shoes to fill.
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Klopp, who famously introduced himself as “the normal one” in his first Liverpool news conference, was glad he is leaving the club in a good position after enjoying a trophy laden career.
“But look, it’s not burning behind me and that gives me a good feeling,” Klopp said in his last post-match news conference on Sunday, adding that he will return to Anfield some day as a spectator.
The German will be packing his bags after a few emotional weeks in the city. In January, the 56-year-old announced he will leave at the end of the season after nine years at the helm due to draining energy levels.
“A private life must be planned and I didn’t plan anything yet because I was here,” Klopp said. “Probably Ulla [Sandrock, his wife] will update me where we go but I follow happily.
“I don’t know exactly why nobody believes I probably will not be a manager again but I understand because obviously it seems to be a drug, because everybody comes back and everyone works until they are 70-something.
“Other people can do it in different ways, I have to be all-in, I have to be the spark, I have to be the energy, I have to be all these kind of things and I’m empty.
“You only have to look outside which clubs are obviously available. There will be opportunities, but I don’t sit here and think, ‘Maybe in a year’s time I take that.'”