His players wouldn’t agree and neither would the fans with whom he has a special bond, but Klopp came up the hard way and simply fell in love with Liverpool

JURGEN KLOPP does not exactly have the rest of his managerial career mapped out but he can visualise its ending.

“When it is time, hopefully I am still healthy and I can say ‘great, I loved it but now I would like to watch other people doing it.’

“So, I hope I find this inner mood to say ‘see you later, I wish you all the best, best of luck, love you all but don’t call because of any football matters.’ That’s the plan.”

It is all said to that familiar soundtrack of infectious laughter but Klopp’s journey to the summit of his unforgiving profession will take some sort of toll eventually.

There was no privileged pathway. He explains: “When I was a professional football player, I studied at university. I had a really busy life. I was a young father. I got up really early, took care of my wife – my former wife – who was also working at that time, took care of my little boy. Then I went to university and from university I went to training and then I had a job at night in a bar.

“I finished at university, became a sports scientist, and started doing other training programmes, thinking what I could do after my playing career because the money we earned was not enough.

“Then I became a manager and it was the most busy time of my life because the jobs that would now be done by 25 people, I did them myself. I was the analyst, I was the scouting department, I was everything.

“Then I went to Dortmund and gave a lot of the jobs to assistants but I had to do the public things and the other stuff. And now, of course, I’m incredibly busy at Liverpool.

“I love it but what I want to say is that I will not miss that.”

Liverpool’s first home game after the restart was against Crystal Palace and former Kop boss Roy Hodgson, who turns 73 next month. “I don’t see me doing that at age,” Klopp says. “When I became a manager (aged 33), I thought ‘right, now 25 power years.’

“I was seven and a half years at Mainz, seven at Dortmund, and in 2024 (when his current contract at Liverpool ends) it will be 23 and half. I have no plans beyond that.”

Talk to Klopp for any length of time and it becomes clear any plans beyond that are extremely unlikely to include another club job, his bond with Liverpool Football Club and its

fans having become so remarkably strong. He says: “I know King Kenny and I would have loved to have met and talked with Bill Shankly and Bob Paisley (below, with Dalglish) but the thing the four of us have in common is that we love football... and everyone in Liverpool loves footthat