Klopp hints at retirement
LONDON, United Kingdom, Aug 22 – Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has hinted that he may take a break from football or stop coaching for good when his contract at Anfield expires in 2022.
It’s not the first time that Klopp, 52, has said that he may well leave the game when he finishes on Merseyside – back in 2016 the German coach admitted that he could not see himself managing into old age.
And Klopp, who said in July he will not walk away from Anfield while he is under contract, has again hinted that he may look to retire in three years after picking up Sport Bild’s Manager of the Year award.
In accepting the award, Klopp via video call, was asked what the future holds: “I hope to continue like this, but in two, three years I don’t know what may happen.
“Maybe I’ll retire!” Klopp said lightheartedly way, before adding: “It doesn’t necessarily mean it will happen, however, but if that were the case, you wouldn’t be surprised.”
Klopp’s current contract at Liverpool runs until 2022, which would see his Anfield tenure stretch to almost seven years – the same amount of time he spent at Mainz and Borussia Dortmund.
The German coach, who recently insisted he has no “master plan” for his managerial career, was set to pen a new five-year deal.
That has not yet happened, but he did say in April: “We still have so much to achieve here,” potentially to 2027, having penned a six-year extension in 2016.
“The only thing with the seven years is it is pure coincidence,” Klopp said at the time
“When they offered me a contract I did not say: ‘Yeah, that will take me to seven.’ It looks like a big master plan!”
