JURGEN KLOPP joked that he was banned from discussing five topics as he made a farewell appearance in Liverpool on Tuesday.
The German coach waved goodbye to Anfield after the 2-0 win over Wolves on the final day of the Premier League season.
The 56-year-old achieved legendary status in his nine years at the club.
Klopp ended Liverpool’s three-decade wait for a title, lifted the Champions League, the Club World Cup, Uefa Super Cup, FA Cup and two League Cups.
Dutchman Arne Slot has been announced as his replacement but last night there was time for one final farewell appearance for the departing boss.
He attended a Q&A at the M&S Bank Arena in Liverpool that had famous faces such as Will Arnett and Daniel Craig send tributes to the icon before he and his family head for Majorca.
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Klopp discussed a wide-range of topics while he was also serenaded numerous times by the jam-packed crowd in attendance.
He revealed that marrying his wife Ulla was the only decision that was better than his one to join Liverpool.
And he also admitted that he had held talks with his replacement Slot after handing over the reins.
But Klopp also said that he had been given an unofficial list of banned topics to avoid talking about.
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He said: “TNT – no 12:30 discussion; referees; we don’t talk about Man City – don’t know why; we don’t talk about financial things – don’t know why; VAR.’”
Manchester City are currently being investigated over 115 alleged charges of breaching Premier League financial rules – something the current champions have repeatedly denied.
Comedian John Bishop was the compere, and he asked Klopp what would happen should the investigation strip the Cityzens of their past crowns and lead to the Reds receiving two more titles.
Klopp said: “If you organise a bus parade I’m in. How long it takes, I don’t care how long.”
He could also not resist poking fun at some of Liverpool’s rivals, firstly referencing Mauricio Pochettino’s shock departure from Chelsea last week.
He said: “We should be really happy we have them (Fenway Sports Group) and not guys who bought London clubs. I wouldn’t have survived a year at Liverpool (with them).
“Finally they (Chelsea) play football which everyone thinks ‘Oh, they might be back’ and then they sack the manager anyway.
Slot snubbed Spurs, hates defending and has a PASS named after him
By Dan King
LIVERPOOL’S new manager Arne Slot was a good enough player to have a type of pass named after him.
But it is as a manager that the Feyenoord head coach is really making his mark.
Like another bald Dutchman, Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag, Slot earned his stripes bossing smaller sides before being given a chance at one of the Netherlands’ big three.
But the question Liverpool are pondering is whether Slot would make a better fist of running one of the biggest clubs in the world than Ten Hag so far has at Old Trafford.
Slot, 45, was certainly easier on the eye as a player than centre back Ten Hag.
“The Arne Slot Ball” was something he perfected as a silky No 10 – a back-to-goal, first-time, 180-degree spin and flick behind the defensive line for a winger to run on to deep in the opposition half.
Click here to read all about the incoming Liverpool boss.
“The owners feel responsible for the club. Are they the best in the world? I don’t know, I can’t say. But they worked really hard. I felt supported.”
Then it was Manchester United who received some stick as Klopp took aim at their handling of the Jadon Sancho situation.
The England winger publicly fell-out with boss Erik ten Hag and has been shipped out to Dortmund on loan.
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Klopp said: “If the whole world loses trust and faith in the player, the manager has to be the one behind the player.
“I cannot just buy into that ‘he’s useless’, like other clubs did by the way – buying a player for £80million and then sending him out on loan!”
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.
Or click here to check out all of Dave Kidd’s articles.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
