LIVERPOOL legend Steven Gerrard has called for the club to honour manager Jurgen Klopp with a statute when he delivers their first league title for 30 years.
The Rangers boss believes the Merseyside club should be “starting work on a statue” for the “best manager in the world” ahead of Liverpool’s inevitable triumph.
Liverpool should erect a statue of Jurgen Klopp, according to Steven Gerrard
The Reds need just two wins from their remaining nine Premier League fixtures to lift the title in the delayed 2019-20 season.
Klopp’s champions elect sit on top of the table with a 25 point lead over nearest chasers and last season’s champions Manchester City.
The Anfield side had almost secured the title before action was curtailed in March amid the spread of Covid-19.
Gerrard told The Athletic: “Let’s cut to the chase, sitting here, doing this interview right now, I think Jurgen Klopp is the best manager in the world.
“I know there are a lot of successful managers about. Pep Guardiola is exceptional. Carlo Ancelotti is exceptional too and I think Everton are really lucky to have him with his CV. I could name many more.
Gerrard left before Klopp took over at Anfield but the pair have a good relationship
“Having had the experience of being a manager for the past two years, you realise how difficult and challenging the job is. I have nothing but respect for Jurgen.
“The way the man handles himself, the way he’s been with myself, the way he goes about his business, the way he comes across.
“I think he’s got a heart and I think he’s got a head. He just works for Liverpool. He has come and taken the club to the next level.”
Ex-Reds skipper Gerrard was full of praise for German boss Klopp and said he will go down in the club’s history books alongside greats Bill Shankly and Bob Paisley.
Shankly and Paisley both have statues outside Anfield and 40-year-old Gerrard sees no reason why Klopp should not join them.
Bill Shankly is honoured with a statue outside Anfield
He added: “Knowing Jurgen, he won’t want to be put in that bracket. I know what he’s like, he’s humble and respectful.
“When you look at the scale of the job he’s done, for sure he deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as those iconic managers.
“What you need to take into consideration is that when Jurgen took over Liverpool they weren’t close to being the best team in the country, they weren’t even in the top four.
“To come to Liverpool when he did, get to the amount of finals that he has, deliver the sixth European Cup and then deliver the first league title after 30 years…
“For me, someone like Jurgen should be rewarded now. It seems like in football we often wait until people get older before their achievements are fully recognised.
“But I know the owners of Liverpool won’t let that happen. When Jurgen delivers the league they should already be starting work on a statue of him.”
Should Man City lose against Arsenal tomorrow on the day action restarts, Liverpool could seal their title with a win in the Merseyside derby at Goodison Park, the home of fierce rivals Everton.
The Reds play on Sunday and SunSport exclusively revealed Klopp’s side could be forced to celebrate in a makeshift cabin within the ground’s car park.
Captain Jordan Henderson is also facing the prospect of lifting the trophy in a bizarre socially distanced fashion.
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp on how he changed his mind on Sadio Mane
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
