Jürgen Klopp has extended his Liverpool contract by two years to 2026. The deal was confirmed the day after a Champions League win at home to Villarreal kept his team on course for an unprecedented quadruple.
“There are so many words I could use to describe how I am feeling about this news . . . delighted, humbled, blessed, privileged and excited would be a start,” Klopp said. “There is just so much to love about this place. I knew that before I came here, I got to know it even better after I arrived and now I know it more than ever before.
“Like any healthy relationship, it always has to be a two-way street; you have to be right for each other. The feeling we were absolutely right for each other is what brought me here in the first place and it’s why I’ve extended previously.
“This one is different because of the length of time we have been together. I had to ask myself the question: Is it right for Liverpool that I stay longer? Along with my two assistant managers, Pep Lijnders and Pete Krawietz, we came to the conclusion it was a ‘Yes!’
“There is a freshness about us as a club still and this energises me. For as long as I have been here, our owners have been unbelievably committed and energetic about this club and it is clear that right now this applies to our future as much as I’ve ever known.”
Liverpool’s owner, Fenway Sports Group, has long hoped the manager would sign another contract with the club he has revitalised since his arrival in October 2015. FSG’s president, Mike Gordon, travelled from Boston to Anfield for Wednesday’s Champions League semi-final first leg against Villarreal.
Klopp’s agent, Marc Kosicke, was sitting a few seats away from Gordon and it is understood the contract extension featured in their conversations. Liverpool’s owners were encouraged by comments Klopp made last month, when he said he could sign a new deal at the “last minute” depending on his energy levels and enthusiasm for the job, and moved to hold discussions.
Klopp admitted he had been exhausted by last season, when multiple injuries damaged the team’s defence of the Premier League title and the pandemic forced football behind closed doors. In early March, asked about staying beyond 2024, he said: “If I have the energy levels for it. That is important.”
On Thursday he said: “When the owners brought the possibility to renew to me, I asked myself the question I’ve mused over publicly. Do I have the energy and vibe to give of myself again what this amazing place requires from the person in the manager’s office? I didn’t need too long to answer in truth. The answer was very simple . . . I’m in love with here and I feel fine!”
Liverpool’s outstanding form this season – they have won the Carabao Cup, face Chelsea in the FA Cup final, trail Manchester City by one point in the title race with five games left and are on course for a third Champions League final appearance in five seasons – has helped to re-energise Klopp. But he has also been enthused by the club’s long-term planning.
The recruitment of Luis Díaz and Ibrahima Konaté has helped freshen the side, a deal is in place for Fulham’s Fabio Carvalho and there is interest in the Monaco midfielder Aurélien Tchouaméni, who is also coveted by Real Madrid. Work on the new Anfield Road stand is also well under way.
Lijnders and Krawietz have also signed deals to 2026. Gordon said: “Jürgen wanting to make our future to be as bright as our present is a big statement. We cannot rest or consolidate.
“We have to think at all times about improvement and we are now able to do this in the knowledge that we have retained a manager who not only shares our vision and ambition, he remains determined to deliver on it.” – Guardian
