Jurgen Klopp’s wife Ulla breaks down in tears as Liverpool manager says goodbye to club in emotional speech
JURGEN KLOPP’S wife Ulla was in tears as her husband’s Liverpool tenure came to an emotional halt.
The German, 56, saw his side beat Wolves 2-0 to bring the curtain down on a glittering nine years in charge.
During the final minute of stoppage time, the TV coverage showed a live image of Klopp‘s wife Ulla.
As the game neared its end, Ulla could be seen wiping away a tear.
When the final whistle went, Klopp received an incredible ovation from his adoring Anfield faithful.
As the tributes continued after the match, Ulla wasn’t the only person at Anfield to be visibly moved.
With fans singing their anthem You’ll Never Walk Alone, Trent Alexander-Arnold could be seen crying.
The full-back, 25, has only known life at Liverpool under Klopp, having been given his senior debut by the former Dortmund boss in 2016.
Skipper Virgil van Dijk also welled up after sharing a touching hug with his manager.
Having cleared out his office during the week, Klopp saw his side win 2-0 courtesy of goals by Alexis Mac Allister and Jarell Quansah.
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After fist pumping for the Kop one last time, Klopp took to the microphone to address the crowd.
He said: “I’m surprised. I thought I’d already be in pieces but I’m not.
“I’m so happy about you all, the atmosphere, the game, being a part of this family and about us, how we celebrate this day.
“It doesn’t feel like an end. It just feels like a start. Today I saw a football team play full of talent, youth, creativity, desire, greed. That’s one part of development, that’s what you need obviously.
“In these few weeks where I have had too much attention, I realised a lot of things. People say I turned them from doubters into believers.
“That’s not true. You did it. Nobody tells you to stop believing. This club is in a better moment than a long time.
You welcome the new manager like you welcomed me
Jurgen Klopp
“We have this wonderful stadium, training centre and you – the superpower of world football. Wow.
“We decide if we are worried or excited. We decide if we believe. We decide if we trust or don’t trust. Today I am one of you and I keep believing. I stay believing 100 per cent.
“Obviously I saw a lot of people crying and I will tonight too because I will miss people but change is good. Everything will be fine because the basics are 100 per cent there.
“You welcome the new manager like you welcomed me. You go all in from the first day. You keep believing. You push the team. I’m one of you now. I love you to bits.
“Thank you. You are the best team in the world. Thank you!”
‘I’VE GOT NO WORDS’
Klopp, charismatic to the last, then started a chant for his successor, Feyenoord boss Arne Slot.
Van Dijk, 32, then told Sky Sports: “I’ve got no words.
“It’s been an emotional day. It was always going to be a tough afternoon.
“You can’t prepare for these situations, these moments. He deserves every bit of the love that he is getting at the moment.”
Having grown jaded by management, Klopp is now set to spend time at his new pad in Mallorca.
The £3.5million property boasts 5,000sqm and was previously owned by Swiss businessman and artist Rolf Knie.
After today’s Liverpool swansong Klopp hinted that he could retire from management altogether – and that he will definitely never return to the Premier League.
He said: “It will be a long break, for sure. It might even be it.
“My time in England is definitely over because I will not coach another team here.
“If I manage again, it will not be around the corner.”
Klopp has botched his Liverpool exit… and it’s cost him his legacy, says Dave Kidd
By Dave Kidd
NOW we know Jurgen Klopp’s final major trophy haul at Liverpool — one Champions League, one Premier League, one FA Cup, two League Cups and (if you must) a World Club Cup.
But where does his reign stand among the greatest of the Premier League era?
In black-and-white terms, Klopp is way behind Sir Alex Ferguson and Pep Guardiola, the only two men to have won multiple Premier Leagues and a Champions League at the same club.
Those two sit alongside Brian Clough, Bob Paisley and Sir Matt Busby as the undoubted all-time managerial greats of the English game.
But Klopp ranks in the next tier down — with Arsene Wenger, Jose Mourinho (the Chelsea version), Bill Shankly and Don Revie.
These were all men with the strength of character to transform their clubs in their own image and enjoy success but who did not win as much as they might have done.
Had Klopp managed to keep his intentions under wraps and ended up with another title, perhaps even a treble or quadruple, he’d have edged himself up into that highest echelon with Ferguson, Guardiola, Clough, Paisley and Busby.
But deciding the timing and the manner of your exit is one of the toughest calls for any manager or sportsman.
Klopp got it wrong.
Read Dave Kidd’s take on Klopp’s demise in full here.
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