26 January 2024 , 12:30
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Liverpool are expected to assist Jurgen Klopp with his Anfield exit after he announced he will be stepping down as manager at the end of the season.
That's if a secret clause in his contract still exists after it first appeared in the six-year deal the German signed back in 2019 at Liverpool.
According to The Independent, a clause stipulated that Liverpool would repatriate Klopp back to Germany once he decided to call it a day, and help him with the transition.
Klopp signed an extension in 2022 and it's unclear if the clause was carried over into the new contract, but given what the 56-year-old has done for the club in his nine years as boss it seems likely he will get all the support he needs as he makes his next step.
It is not uncommon for football clubs to assist managers and signings when they are first arriving at their new place of work.
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Clubs have player liaison managers who help with everything from organising places for them to live to finding schools for their children to attend.
It is less common for clubs to assist a manager heading in the opposite direction as more often than not a departing boss is either sacked or poached by another club.
But Liverpool's 2019 gesture shows what Klopp, who won the Reds a first Premier League title and sixth Champions League crown, means to the club and vice versa.
Klopp broke Liverpool hearts on Friday, just days after the Reds beat Fulham in the Carabao Cup semis to secure a place in the final against Chelsea, by announcing his exit.
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.
"It is that I am, how can I say it, running out of energy. 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.
"After the years we had together and after all the time we spent together and after all the things we went through together, the respect grew for you, the love grew for you and the least I owe you is the truth – and that is the truth."