Exclusive: Klopp doesn’t want to be a ‘passenger’ at ‘too important’ Liverpool

Jurgen Klopp has told TNT Sports in an exclusive interview that he refuses to be a “passenger” at Liverpool and not being able to deliver titles in the future was a contributing factor towards his decision to step down as manager.

Speaking to Rio Ferdinand for Between The Lines on TNT Sports, Klopp doesn’t believe he can push the team to compete for the biggest honours anymore, despite winning everything there is to win at Liverpool.

“It’s not that I want to leave, it’s more that I have to,” Klopp told Ferdinand ahead of his side’s match against Chelsea, which is live on TNT Sports and discovery+ from 19:00 on Wednesday.

“If I cannot do it like that, if I cannot be the guy to push the team to the Champions League and stuff like that, then why should I do the job?

“I don’t want to be a passenger. The job is too important, the club is too important, so that’s why I decided [to leave].”

‘I’m not made of wood’ – Klopp on first game after decision to leave Liverpool

Klopp has guided Liverpool to the biggest honours both domestically and on the European stage since his arrival on Merseyside in 2015.

He won Liverpool a sixth UEFA Champions League title in 2019 before ending the club’s 30-year wait for a top-flight title when he beat Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City to the Premier League in 2019/20 by 18 points.

Klopp also won a domestic double in 2021, adding the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup to his haul at the club.

MADRID, SPAIN – JUNE 01: Jurgen Klopp, Manager of Liverpool celebrates with the Champions League Trophy after winning the UEFA Champions League Final between Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool at Estadio Wanda Metropolitano on June 01, 2019 in Madrid, Spain.

Image credit: Eurosport

Despite his success with The Reds, Klopp admitted that he wasn’t a “born winner”.

Liverpool lost the Champions League finals in 2017/18 and in 2021/22, both of which were against Real Madrid, but the German said he wasn’t too bothered about it as they got there in the end.

“I cannot say I’m a naturally born winner, I’m not,” Klopp said. “I had to do it the hard way.

“Losing a European final is not my top 10 of the worst things that can happen. In life, it’s definitely not. It’s something you don’t like and you want to avoid and you want to win these finals.

“It took a while [for us] to win the Champions League final. Great, but it took a while”

On the difference between winning finals and losing finals, Klopp added: “A massive, massive difference.

“It was cool that we won it at least once, I was in four finals [including the Europa League in 2015/16], and lost three. So what kind of story do we want to tell about that?

“It’s not fantastic but it’s part of my life and I have no problem with that. Of course, these moments [winning finals] are the much better ones.”

How to watch Liverpool v Chelsea?

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Liverpool v Chelsea will be live on TNT Sports 1 and ultimate with coverage from 19:30 on Wednesday, January 31 ahead of kick-off at 20:15.

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