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Jurgen Klopp says he agreed to extend his Liverpool deal until 2024 because he wants to remain part of the club’s ‘wonderful journey’
Jurgen Klopp has extended his contract at Liverpool until 2024, saying he could not contemplate leaving the European champions.
The 52-year-old arrived at Anfield in October 2015 and lifted his first silverware with the club this year, winning the Champions League in June and the Super Cup in August.
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Klopp has also taken Liverpool to the top of the Premier League this season – establishing an eight-point lead – making them odds-on favourites to win their first title since 1990.
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After announcing his new deal, Klopp said: “For me personally, this is a statement of intent, one which is built on my knowledge of what we as a partnership have achieved so far and what is still there for us to achieve.
“When I see the development of the club and the collaborative work that continues to take place, I feel my contribution can only grow.
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“People see what happens on the pitch as a measure of our progress and although it is the best measure, it’s not the only measure.
“I have seen the commitment from ownership through to every aspect and function of the club you can think of.
“When the call came in autumn 2015, I felt we were perfect for each other; if anything, now I feel I underestimated that.
“It is only with a total belief that the collaboration remains totally complimentary on both sides that I am able to make this commitment to 2024. If I didn’t I would not be re-signing.
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“This club is in such a good place, I couldn’t contemplate leaving. For anyone in football who aspires to compete in an environment where every element of the organisation is at its very best – from the support of the supporters to the vision of the owners – there can be no better place than this.”
Klopp’s assistants Peter Krawietz and Pepijn Lijnders have also extended their contracts with the club.
‘Delivering multiple successes is the long term goal’
Analysis from Sky Sports News reporter Vinny O’Connor:
Jurgen Klopp was not up for discussing a new deal in the summer. With a contract that ran until 2022, he did not feel the need and was genuinely surprised to be asked about it during Liverpool’s pre-season tour of the United States.
As planning day to day, week to week and month to month turned into looking beyond that, it became clear he needed a rethink.
While he’s assembled a squad that’s conquered Europe and is on course to deliver the club’s first Premier League title (their first league title in 30 years), delivering multiple successes is the long-term goal.
In order to do that, top quality additions to the squad will be needed, and it’s a far more attractive proposition for any new recruit knowing that Klopp will be in charge until 2024, rather than walking out of the door in a couple of years time.
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This will be the longest Klopp has stayed at any one club.
It’s clear he’s comfortable not just in Liverpool but in his working relationship with FSG thanking Mike Gordon, John W Henry, Tom Werner and Mike Edwards for the support they’ve given him and his team.
Their willingness to finance and bring in the players key to the manager’s footballing philosophy (most notably Alisson and Virgil van Dijk) has sealed the trust the manager has in his bosses, and their backing has been rewarded with results on the pitch.
The fact that the club’s owners have ensured that Klopp’s backroom staff are tied to Anfield until 2024 is another indication of the faith they have in the manager’s judgment and was another deal clincher.
Klopp accepts that, at some point, they may face difficult times, but believes someone who understands the club as well as he does, is the best person to navigate them through the good and the bad. He gets Liverpool and they get him.
Klopp praises ‘very good’ Minamino
Ahead of Liverpool’s home game against Watford on Saturday, Klopp suggested one of the reasons he signed his new deal is to assure potential new signings of his commitment to the club.
One player they are expected to sign is Red Bull Salzburg forward Takumi Minamino, who impressed in both of the Austrian side’s matches with Liverpool in this season’s Champions League.
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He has a release clause of just £7.25m in his contract, and Liverpool are expected to seal the deal next month, barring any unforeseen circumstances.
Klopp praised Minamino when asked about him on Friday – three days after the Reds’ 2-0 win in Salzburg – but was reluctant to go into details of the transfer, saying: “We’ll speak about it – like all potential transfers – when it’s sorted.
“He’s a very good player – I can say that. But I saw a few very good players in the Salzburg team – much more than I wanted, especially in the first half!”
Sourse: skysports.com
