Jürgen Klopp had always seemed clear he would leave Liverpool in 2024 when he will be 57, largely it seemed because he felt putting a cap on his reign would help avoid the sort of staleness that contributed to his struggles in his final season at Borussia Dortmund. From that perspective the news last week that he had signed an extension to ’26 came as a surprise. But on the other hand, when everything is going this well, why would you want to leave?
What Klopp has achieved at Liverpool is extraordinary, and all the more so given it has been done on a (relatively) restricted budget. Liverpool is a super club and is complicit in the skewing of football’s finances so that only a handful can compete, but there are gradations. Since Klopp arrived in October 2015, Liverpool has spent a net £225 million and yet it is able to go toe-to-toe with Manchester City, which, in that same period, has spent a net £606 million.
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