Liverpool co-owner LeBron James speaks out on Jurgen Klopp deciding to quit club.
LeBron James has heaped praise on Jurgen Klopp after his surprise announcement that he will leave Liverpool at the end of the season.

Klopp is set to walk away from his role after nine years in charge, believing he is no longer the man to take the team forward after stating that he is “running out of energy”. He could potentially step away from management for good – and he leaves with NBA superstar James singing his praises.

James, who owns a minority stake in the club having joined Fenway Sports Group (FSG), sent a message thanking the legendary manager. Posting on X, James wrote: “THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING AND MORE!! You are one helluva manager and you’ll never be forgotten and more importantly YOU’LL NEVER WALK ALONE!! The Reds will miss you!!”

James has been a minority owner of Liverpool since 2011, being seen at a few games over the years, including the 2022 Champions League final in Paris – while mainly supporting the team from afar.

In an emotional video for the Liverpool website, Klopp rocked the Reds fan when he said: “I can understand that it’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.

“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.”

The German boss, 56, was contracted for two further seasons and had admitted he had fully intended to honour that contract before coming to the realisation that he must leave the club.

Klopp is now set for a year away from the sport, before deciding whether he will continue as a manager or retire to explore other ventures.

The legendary manager assured Liverpool fans that he would never manage in the Premier League ever again, with some believing that he is likely to join the German national team after Euro 2024 – with current boss Julian Nagelsmann only signing a short-term contract while looking to get back into club management.

Former Reds midfielder Xabi Alonso has emerged as a strong favorite to take over from Klopp, after a strong two years with German side Bayer Leverkusen.

I will sleep better – Pep Guardiola calls Jurgen Klopp ‘best rival of my career’
7 hours ago / autty
Pep Guardiola joked that he will sleep better once Jurgen Klopp has left Liverpool – and backed his long-time rival to return to management one day.

Klopp made the shock announcement on Friday morning that he will be quitting Anfield at the end of the season after nine years in charge.

Guardiola joined City a year after Klopp arrived on Merseyside, and the duo have been jostling at the top of English football almost ever since, with the German ending Liverpool’s 30-year wait for the title in 2020.

They had previously locked horns for two years in Germany with Guardiola at Bayern Munich and Klopp in charge of Borussia Dortmund, and have faced each other more than any other manager – a total of 29 times.

The two clubs have since met in the Premier League on 15 occasions in an enduring rivalry which Guardiola once described as “beautiful”, with City winning five matches, Liverpool four and the other six finishing as draws.

Guardiola, whose side currently trail leaders Liverpool by five points but have a game in hand, said: “I will sleep better. Before playing against Liverpool was always a nightmare.

“Of course he will be missed. It was shock to everyone. As Manchester City we will lose something, we cannot define our period without him and without Liverpool.

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola (right) and Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp

“He is the best rival I have had in my career. The Premier League will miss his charisma and personality. I wish him all the best.”

Klopp plans to take a year off after leaving Liverpool and then see how he feels but has ruled out a return to management in England.

Guardiola, who took a year-long sabbatical from football after leaving Barcelona in 2012 before taking charge at Bayern Munich, has no doubts that the German will return to the dugout at some point.

The Spaniard added: “He will not admit it but he will be back. I know it. Maybe in 10 years time, when he’s charged his energy. I’m saying this personality will be back. With national team, I don’t know.

“Nine years in the same place, maybe he needs to breathe, to step back. At Barcelona I had that feeling.

“But football needs personalities like him. Hopefully next season we will have time to go out for dinner together.”

Klopp reveals Liverpool players’ reaction to his shock departure announcement
10 hours ago / autty
Jurgen Klopp revealed the Liverpool squad’s response to his unexpected departure announcement after nearly nine years at the helm.

In a press conference, the German manager, whose announcement sent shockwaves through English football, addressed the team’s reaction and dismissed any inquiries regarding his successor.

Klopp stated, ‘The players I spoke to altogether and a few others after that. We have a really strong bond, but they haven’t asked questions yet. We have a really strong bond. We are professionals…

‘The agreement with the players is for one year (at the start of the season). We are completely in that year, and the boys are in a really good mood.’

‘It wasn’t like the players were having a party when I told them, but they were out training as normal. It’s different from when a manager is sacked, who just goes in and says goodbye.’

Regarding his potential successor, former Liverpool player Xabi Alonso is currently the bookmakers’ frontrunner after an impressive start to his managerial career with Bayer Leverkusen.

However, Klopp clarified that he will have no influence on the selection process, stating, ‘No, why should I? In this world, you have a few faces who do an incredible job, you don’t see too often. It looks like I do all the work, I don’t and I can’t.’

‘What we have built is an incredibly strong structure behind the scenes. So many people work here with only one idea: to find the best thing for Liverpool.

‘That will happen. The last thing they need is the old man giving advice, and I certainly won’t be doing that.’ The boss added.

Klopp will depart Liverpool at the end of the season after a nine-year tenure with the club

Where Jurgen Klopp ranks in the highest-paid managers in world football
11 hours ago / autty
Jurgen Klopp is walking away from a contract that ranks him as the third highest-paid manager in world football.

The German coach has announced that he’ll depart Liverpool at the end of the 2023-24 campaign, two years earlier than his current deal with the club is due to expire. It’s reported that Klopp takes home an annual salary of €18million, which places him only behind Diego Simeone and Pep Guardiola.

The best-paid managers in the world are unsurprisingly at some of Europe’s most glamorous clubs, with the head coaches of Manchester City, Bayern Munich, Juventus, Barcelona and Real Madrid featuring at the top end alongside Klopp.

Diego Simeone might not be at the biggest club in the world, but he earns a higher salary at Atletico Madrid than any coach at any other club. Simeone is the longest-serving coach in Europe’s major leagues and has been well-remunerated for the transformative effect he’s had at the club since 2011.

The Argentinian won the La Liga title as a player in 1996 and has been immensely successful on his return. As coach he’s led Atletico to two La Liga titles and two Champions League finals, while qualifying the club for Europe’s most prestigious cup competition in every one of his full seasons at the helm.

That impact has been recognised by the Atletico hierarchy and he’s remained the best-paid coach in football over the past few years. Simeone earns a whopping €34million per year and remains contracted at the Metropolitano Stadium until 2024, having last signed an extension in 2021.

Somewhat surprising, given the Premier League’s status as the most lucrative league in Europe, only three managers of English clubs feature in the top 12 – Man City manager Pep Guardiola (a reported €22million annual salary) and Liverpool coach Jurgen Klopp (€18million) are second and third in the list respectively.

The latest inclusion on the list is Steven Gerrard, following his lucrative move to Saudi Arabia. The former Aston Villa and Rangers boss is paid an annual wage of €17.6million to manage Al-Ettifaq which blows plenty of Premier League managers out of the water. And despite the club struggling in the Saudi Pro League this season, the 43-year-old has recently put pen to paper on an extension that runs all the way to 2027.

Juventus’ Massimiliano Allegri, recently-appointed Bayern Munich boss Thomas Tuchel and Real Madrid head honcho Carlo Ancelotti are fifth, sixth and seventh respectively, which seems befitting of their reputations and their clubs’ statuses as European royalty.

Elsewhere, Xabi Alonso at Bayer Leverkusen – in his first senior coaching job – and Niko Kovac at Wolfsburg are somewhat surprising inclusions in the top 10.

Here are the 10 highest-paid managers in world football, according to Sport, with their annual salaries broken down in full:

1. Diego Simeone – €34million

2. Pep Guardiola – €22million

3. Jurgen Klopp – €18million

4. Steven Gerrard – €17.6million

5. Massimiliano Allegri – €12.8million

6. Thomas Tuchel – €12million

7. Carlo Ancelotti – €11million

8. Simone Inzaghi – €10million

9. Xabi Alonso – €5million

10. Niko Kovac – €4million

Agency Reports. .