Jurgen Klopp told his Liverpool players “I love you” as he delivered a final speech in the Anfield dressing room.
Klopp’s nine-year era as manager ended with a 2-0 win over Wolves, and he gave an emotional speech on the pitch to Liverpool fans. The German also sang the name of his successor, the Feyenoord manager Arne Slot.
Inside the dressing room, Klopp told his players: “I love you. I can’t wait to be watching you, developing, making next steps…”
He stopped to check who had won the league and was told that Manchester City had pipped Arsenal.
“Well, the only ones who stopped them do that was us [in 2019-20], and you can do that again.”
Klopp added: “There might be some people who say [third place] is not enough – I tell you, they don’t have a clue about football.
“Could we have had better moments? Yes, of course, that’s always possible. But did we do better than you can usually expect? Oh yes, because it takes longer to become a top team again.
“Coming third in the first season with Liverpool 2.0, and from now on with new energy from outside, with new influences, with new push, proving yourself, that’s good for squeezing everything out of your career.
“I love you. It was absolutely outstanding, thank you for the ride. I’m so proud of you, I’m so proud that I was allowed to be part of this, thank you very much. And the sky’s the limit for you boys.”
Alexis Mac Allister and Jarell Quansah scored in the game, after which Klopp addressed Anfield.
“I’m probably surprised, I thought I’m already in pieces to be honest, but I’m not, I’m so happy. I can’t believe it,” he said. “I’m so happy about you all, about the atmosphere, about the game, about being part of this family, about us, how we celebrated this day. Thank you so much!”
Klopp’s men, who were on course to give their manager a fairytale ending before a string of bad results last month derailed their title challenge, finished the season on 82 points, nine behind winners Manchester City and seven behind second-placed Arsenal.
“I’ve got no words, it’s a very emotional day,” Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk – fighting back tears – told Sky Sports. “It was always going to be a tough afternoon. We wanted to make sure that we do our job basically and then obviously we can all be very emotional after the game.
“(Klopp) deserves every bit of love that he’s getting.”
Wolves were reduced to 10 men in the 28th minute when Nelson Semedo was sent off for his ugly tackle on Mac Allister. Six minutes later, the Argentine midfielder headed home Harvey Elliott’s curling cross, bringing Klopp to his feet with a huge smile. Quansah doubled Liverpool’s lead in the 40th minute when he poked in Liverpool talisman Mohamed Salah’s shot.
Klopp bade farewell to the Anfield faithful – including owners John Henry and Tom Werner who flew in from Boston for the occasion – having won 305 matches, including penalty shootouts, with the Reds.
A crowd more than a dozen deep and bathed in red smoke squeezed shoulder to shoulder along the road leading into Anfield on Sunday to welcome the team busses as they pulled in before kick off.
If Liverpool’s pre-game singing of “You’ll Never Walk Alone” – the song by 1960s Liverpool band Gerry and the Pacemakers that became the club anthem – raises goosebumps most games, the Anfield crowd sang at the top of their lungs on Sunday while Klopp raised a hand to his heart.
“This morning I woke up and I was completely in game mode,” Klopp told Sky Sports before kickoff. “We had a normal team meeting and the 60,000 here and the few million watching deserve that. People call it the last dance, so let’s dance!”
Klopp won seven trophies since joining the club in 2015, including the Champions League in 2019 and a first English League title in three decades in 2020. He also won the Club World Cup, FA Cup, League Cup twice and UEFA Super Cup, as well as the Community Shield.
But the German was beloved as much for his passionate demeanour as his on-field success with the Merseyside club. He delighted fans with his high-octane goal celebrations and his post-victory fist pumps. He wrapped his players in huge bear hugs.
Fans’ appreciation was on full display over the final few minutes of Sunday’s game with supporters on their feet singing their version of the Beatles’ “I Feel Fine” over and over.
“I’m so glad that Juergen is a Red, I’m so glad he delivered what he said!”
Klopp bowed his head several times struggling to control his emotions. His wife Ulla dabbed at tears.
After Liverpool lifted the League Cup in February, there was talk of a fairytale ending for the manager but they were eliminated from the FA Cup and Europa League and then dropped down the league standings.
Salah, who made his 250th league appearance for the club on Sunday, finished as the season’s top scorer with 18 league goals, while the team totalled 142 across all competitions, the second-highest in the club’s history after the 2021-22 season (147).
Additional reporting by Reuters
