Rivals Beware, Jurgen Klopp Has Signed A Huge LFC Contract Extension
Jurgen Klopp extended his Liverpool contract in April 2022, keeping him on Merseyside until the end of the 2025-26 campaign at least. This new deal added an extra two years to Klopp’s pact with the club.
Pep Ljinders and Peter Krawietz, Klopp’s assistants, also penned fresh contracts with Liverpool.
Ljinders has been mooted as a managerial candidate for some recent vacancies – getting him to sign on the dotted line is a real boost for Liverpool as they look to build on this incredibly successful period.
The club finished 2021-22 with two trophies and runners-up placings in the Champions League and Premier League.
While dreams of a quadruple were ultimately left unfulfilled, Liverpool are still clearly one of the best sides in the world.
In another era, their Premier League performances under Klopp would have resulted in three titles, and they are a perennial Champions League contender. A squad which looked thin not so long ago suddenly has depth.
Klopp’s intense personality, football and management style has previously been seen as a short-term project, yet he has a new wave of momentum at Liverpool, which has led to this contract extension.
Liverpool fans rejoiced at the news. Jurgen Klopp’s wife had a big role to play in the couple remaining in Liverpool.
Speaking in the announcement video, Klopp explained, “There’s something to announce. Like last time, some will like it, some will not like it too much. If you do not like it, stop watching now.
“I stay for another two years. And not only me! No, all my coaches as well, which is the most important actually.
“Why? is now the question… because Ulla wants to stay! As a good husband, what are you doing when your wife wants to stay? You stay. That’s not the only reason, but it’s one of the reasons.
“You know, I love our club, it’s the best place to be. I feel really, really lucky. What is it now? Six and a half years ago, FSG thought it would be a good idea to bring a German fella in and here we are. We will stay for another two, makes it four from now on.
“Wow! That’s a long time in football. Hope we all will enjoy the time together. See you soon…”
The former Borussia Dortmund manager added, “The most important contract I signed in my life was the one with Ulla. And that’s why it start again, because actually we sat at the kitchen table and Ulla said ‘I can’t see us leaving in 2024’. I said ‘what?’. That’s how it all started and when that started I thought ‘let’s have a think’.
“When I thought about it, it was clear that I needed to have one more really important conversation, that’s the one with Pep Lijnders, because he is probably the main reason for it, and our connection is beyond football things.
“When he said ‘oh yes, I’m in’ then it was clear that we are open for any kind of talks, and that’s why we’re sitting here now.”
Klopp is the second-highest earning manager in the Premier League – only Pep Guardiola earns more than Klopp’s £15 million salary.
When such money is on the table, some might downplay the relationship between the manager and club. It is a business after all. There’s no doubting Klopp’s love for Liverpool, though.
“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.
“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.”
Mike Gordon of FSG said ‘it’s always hard to find the right words to adequately reflect Jürgen’s importance and contribution to our club’ and there’s no counter argument to that.
Klopp might have ended the league title drought. He won another Champions League. But what he means to the club and its fans stretches far beyond the silverware.
Klopp is more than his on-pitch achievements, he’s a man of principles, someone unafraid to speak up for what he believes is right. For a club and city like Liverpool, that’s every bit as important as the heavy metal football and medal haul.
It would have been easy for Klopp to ride off into the sunset as a Liverpool legend.
His place among the club’s greatest managers is already secure, and the core of his great side is ageing with Jordan Henderson, Virgil van Dijk, Joel Matip, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino already in their thirties. They will soon be joined by Mo Salah.
Instead, Klopp’s contract extension ensures he will usher in a new era. This has already begun with Luis Diaz, Diogo Jota and potentially Fabio Carvalho.
There is a certain ambition in opting to stay behind the end of van Dijk, Salah and Mane’s peaks. Klopp is bought in to the next iteration of this Liverpool team, willing to do it all again after taking them from mid-table irrelevance to champions of Europe and England.
Already the longest serving Premier League manager, Klopp is set for remain in the Anfield hotseat for over a decade. Such tenures are rare in the modern game.
While he might not have the trophy haul of some of his predecessors, Klopp currently has a better winning percentage than Bob Paisley, Billy Shankly and Kenny Dalglish. If he keeps that up, Liverpool are bound to collect a trolley full of titles before the German walks away.
