Klopp to leave Liverpool at end of the season

(Reuters) - Manager Juergen Klopp has decided to leave Liverpool at the end of the season, the Premier League club said on Friday.

Klopp, who led Liverpool into the final of the League Cup on Wednesday, had informed the club's hierarchy that he would end his eight-and-a-half years at Anfield at the end of the current campaign.

Assistant managers Pepijn Lijnders and Peter Krawietz are also leaving the club at the same time, Liverpool said.

"It is that I am, how can I say it, running out of energy," Klopp, 56, said on Liverpool's website. "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.

"I have no problem now, obviously, I knew it already for longer that I will have to announce it at one point, but I am absolutely fine now. I know that I cannot do the job again and again and again and again."

The German joined Liverpool in October 2015 and has won the Champions League, Premier League, Club World Cup, FA Cup, League Cup and Super Cup, as well as the Community Shield during his time in charge.

"In keeping with Juergen's expressed wishes, we will save the comprehensive tributes for a more appropriate time but nevertheless, we would be remiss if we did not take this opportunity to reaffirm that his appointment remains one of the greatest blessings of our time as owners," Mike Gordon, Fenway Sports Group president, said.

"The incredible achievements of the intervening years speak for themselves, so too does the joy that Juergen and his team have brought to all of us supporters. His many accomplishments will never be taken for granted."

In the 2019-20 season, Klopp led Liverpool to their first league title since 1990, and their first of the Premier League era. The previous season, Liverpool lifted the Champions League, defeating Tottenham Hotspur in the final.