Jürgen Klopp will leave Anfield in the summer. What will happen to the team? Three top players only have contracts until 2025, Klopp has now revealed why the Reds have not already acted
Virgil van Dijk still has a contract at Liverpool until the summer of 2025, but he recently said in an interview that he did not know whether he would continue to be part of the club after Klopp’s departure. The Dutchman emphasized that the club now faces a difficult task, as they not only have to replace the coach, but also parts of the staff.
“I am curious to see in which direction everything will develop,” added the 32-year-old and revealed: “Once that has been clarified, we will look at my situation.” Unsurprisingly, these statements were quickly followed by wild speculation about the possible departure of the central defender, who has played at Anfield since 2017 and has become a face and identity figure for the Reds in recent years (226 games, 19 goals).
Klopp has now responded, pointing to the media pressure on his players following the announcement of his departure ahead of Wednesday’s league game against Chelsea. “It was clear that the outside world wouldn’t give the players a second to process this,” said Klopp, adding: “A week ago, when nobody knew about my decision, he still had 18 months left on his contract – and nobody asked. “
Klopp’s call: “Give the boys a break “
“Give the boys a break,” Klopp urged the media representatives and emphasized with regard to van Dijk that he had not gone out to talk about his contract situation, rather he had been explicitly asked. “It’s always about the questions and we have to answer them,” Klopp continued, making it clear: “Write what you want. This club is 100 percent stable. My advice would be to stay calm.”
In addition to van Dijk, Mo Salah (31) and Trent Alexander-Arnold (25) will also be entering their “last” year with Liverpool FC next summer. Klopp emphasized that they had not already extended their contracts with the trio out of decency, because they wanted to wait until the players knew about their coach’s decision to leave the club in the summer.
“The club knew about my decision for a while and could have used the time to tie the players down,” explained Klopp, before imagining how his players would have reacted if it had gone that way. “I would have said: ‘Oh well, I’m not here anymore’, and they would have said: ‘What? Nobody told us that’ – you can’t work like that.”
Klopp also showed understanding for his players, who want to have clarity about their prospects. But there is enough time for that – and: “These players love being here and it’s not as if they have one foot out the door. The boys love this place, I know that for sure. “