On January 26, 2024 came the message all Liverpool supporters never wanted to hear. Then Jürgen Klopp told about his departure from Anfield after the 2023/24 season.
The surprising news came as a shock throughout football England, and ahead of the 2-1 victory against Brighton, vice-captain Trent Alexander-Arnold opened up about when the players received the sad message from their important leader.
– It was a big surprise for us, because we didn’t see it coming. You never want to either, of course, especially when everything is going so well. We were in fantastic form, in the middle of a title fight and fighting on four fronts at the time. The expectation was that the good times would only continue, the vice-captain told Jamie Carragher.
Shaken the wardrobe
The German basically has a contract that expires in 2026, and before that day in January, most expected that to be a minimum, especially considering he was so well into building Liverpool 2.0. It didn’t turn out that way.
– Then he tells us the news and his decision, and you almost have to respect that. It was something none of the players wanted to hear and it shook the dressing room for a few hours, but he told us we had to be professional and not let it get to us, the 25-year-old continued.
When the announcement came, Liverpool were fighting for the Premier League, Europa League, League Cup and FA Cup. Two months later, one of them has been won, while two of them continue to be in play, to the very highest degree.
– The players talked about it straight away. He has done a lot for us, brought us in, developed us, brought us through the academy and so on. The journeys were different for everyone, but we ended up together because of him, how he handled us. Now we all owe the manager something and we want to give him the best finish possible.
Such news could end in both positive and negative ways. Fortunately, it looks like it might end up being a fantastic season and finish.
– “He deserves it”, was probably the general opinion. We could use this as motivation for the rest of the season. It will almost be a bit like “The last dance”. Now we will do everything we can to give him a wonderful ending.
