London, April 28: Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp signed a two-year contract extension on Thursday, committing himself to the club until 2026.
Klopp, 54, joined the Reds in 2015 but suggested in March that he would go ahead with a plan to take a break from playing when his contract runs out in 2024. But now he will stay until the summer of 2026 at least.
The Reds have also confirmed that assistant managers Pep Ljinders and Peter Krawietz have also signed new contracts with the Merseyside club, in a further boost to Klopp’s new deal.
“There are so many words I could use to describe how I feel about this news…delighted, honored, blessed, privileged and excited would be a start. There is so much to love about this place. I knew that before I came here, I got to know it even better after to arrive and now I know it more than ever,” Klopp said in a statement.
“Like any healthy relationship, it always has to be a two-way street; you have to be right for each other. The feeling that we were absolutely right for each other is what brought me here in the first place and that’s why I’ve extended before. This one is different because of the amount of time we’ve been together. I had to ask myself the question: Is it right for Liverpool for me to stay longer? Together with my two assistant managers, Pep Lijnders and Pete Krawietz, concluded that it was a ‘Yes!’ “There is still a freshness in us as a club and this gives me energy. Throughout the time I have been here, our owners have been incredibly committed and energetic to this club and it is clear that at this point this applies to our future as much as I have known it,” he added.
Liverpool appointed Klopp as manager on October 8, 2015 after seven successful seasons in charge of Borussia Dortmund. Before his spell at the Westfalenstadion club, he had been in charge of FSV Mainz 05, leading them back to the Bundesliga and reaching Europe for the first time in their history.
In his first term on Merseyside, he led the Reds to the League Cup and Europa League finals, although they narrowly lost both times. In 2016-17, Klopp led the club back to the Champions League, where he would reach the final in kyiv the following year, although he ended up heartbroken with a loss to Real Madrid in Ukraine.
Liverpool’s response was a 97-point run in the Premier League, finishing just one behind Manchester City, and success in Europe as Tottenham Hotspur were beaten in Madrid to clinch the club’s sixth European Cup. The UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup were added to the trophy case before the Reds ended a 30-year wait to be crowned league champions by emphatically sweeping the Premier League title .
Earlier this season, the Carabao Cup was added to the honors list after Chelsea were beaten on penalties at Wembley, and the teams will meet again in the Emirates FA Cup final next month.