Klopp signs extension to stay with Liverpool to 2026

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has signed a two-year contract extension that will keep him at Anfield until 2026, giving the club a huge boost ahead of a defining period in which it could win an unprecedented quadruple.

Liverpool confirmed in a statement on Thursday that assistant managers Pep Lijnders and Peter Krawietz had also signed contract extensions with the Premier League club.

Klopp, who joined Liverpool from Borussia Dortmund in October 2015, had said in March he would remain in charge of the club beyond the end of his previous contract in 2024 only if he had the energy levels.

After signing his new deal, he said there was a freshness about the club still that “energises” him.

“There are so many words I could use to describe how I am feeling about this news... delighted, humbled, blessed, privileged and excited would be a start,” Klopp said in a statement.

“For as long as I have been here, our owners have been unbelievably committed and energetic about this club and it is clear that right now this applies to our future as much as I’ve ever known.

“There is just so much to love about this place. I knew that before I came here, I got to know it even better after I arrived and now I know it more than ever before.”

Klopp, 54, has won five trophies in seven years since swapping the Ruhr valley for Merseyside, guiding Liverpool to the Champions League, Club World Cup and UEFA Super Cup victories in 2019 before lifting the Premier League the following year.

Liverpool remains on course to clinch a quadruple this season, having won the League Cup in February and reached the FA Cup final, while it trails

Premier League leader Manchester City by a single point with five games left.

The Reds are in the box seat in their Champions League semifinal against Villarreal after a 2-0 first-leg victory kept them on track for a third final in five seasons.

“Like any healthy relationship, it always has to be a twoway street, you have to be right for each other. The feeling we were absolutely right for each other is what brought me here in the first place and it’s why I’ve extended previously,” Klopp said.

“We are a club that is constantly moving in the right direction. We have a clear idea of what we want, we have a clear idea of how we try to achieve it. That’s always a great position to start from.”

Klopp hails ‘world class’ Mane

Meanwhile, Klopp hailed Sadio Mane’s versatility after the Senegal forward scored to help his side secure the 2-0 win over Villarreal on Wednesday.

Mane, again playing in a more central role like he did in Premier League wins over Manchester United and Everton, scored in the 55th minute, shortly after an own goal had given Liverpool a second-half lead. The 30-year-old has scored 20 goals in 44 appearances for Liverpool this season, including six in his last seven.

“He can play left, he can play central, both positions world class,” Klopp told reporters when asked why Mane has played centrally in recent weeks.

“He started for us here at Liverpool on the right wing. Some people in the room will remember his goal at Arsenal when it was his first goal, when he cut inside and fired the ball with his left foot into the far corner. Absolutely outstanding, love it.

“There are different ways that Sadio plays and sometimes we want him to drop slightly more, but today we wanted him to stay even more between the centre-halves, keep them away and offer the runs in behind. He has the skillset for it ...”

Mane’s goal was his 14th in the Champions League knockout stages, the joint-most of any African player along with Didier Drogba. He also helped Senegal to a first Africa Cup of Nations title in February and scored the winning spot-kick in a shootout that secured them a spot at this year’s World Cup finals.

Klopp said that Mane could be in line to win the Ballon d’Or if Liverpool win the Champions League.

“If you are not Messi or Ronaldo you have to win probably the Champions League, which we didn’t do yet so give us a few more weeks and then we will see where we end up,” he said.

(Reuters)