- Jurgen Klopp departed Liverpool at the end of last season after nine long years
- He spoke at a special event in front of around 10,000 fans on Tuesday evening
- Are Pep’s City the greatest the Premier League has seen? Listen to the It’s All Kicking Off podcast
Jurgen Klopp was quick to leave his Premier League rivals with one last light-hearted jibe as he took to the stage for his farewell appearance on Tuesday night.
The 56-year-old was attending a question and answer session at the M&S Bank Arena following the end of the season and his tenure as Liverpool coach after nine long years at Anfield.
The event saw famous faces such as Will Arnett and Daniel Craig send their tributes to the German, who treated fans to one last evening in his company before departing for Majorca and leaving them in the hands of successor Arne Slot.
In a wide-ranging question and answer event, Klopp readily admitted that joining the club was the second-best decision he ever made – after marrying wife Ulla – and revealed he had indeed been in conversation with Slot.
Yet Klopp was still ready with a few light-hearted jokes at his rivals’ expense despite the emotional nature of the evening, and he revealed that he had been handed an unofficial list of topics to avoid.
Jurgen Klopp aimed a number of light-hearted jabs at his farewell event on Tuesday evening
Klopp also confirmed that he had spoken to Arne Slot, the incoming Liverpool manager
Slot, who officially takes charge from June 1, has the task of replacing Klopp at Anfield
He said: ‘(broadcaster) 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’.
Compere for the evening John Bishop then questioned Klopp on what might happen should the Reds find themselves two league titles the richer should an ongoing investigation into Manchester City strip them of their crowns.
City are currently being investigated over 115 alleged charges of breaching Premier League financial rules, though the club has repeatedly and vehemently denied them.
Klopp said: ‘If you organise a bus parade I’m in. How long it takes, I don’t care how long.’
Klopp then appeared to turn his sights on Chelsea, as he referenced the recent departure of Mauricio Pochettino.
The Argentine manager managed to guide the Blues to sixth place and a spot in the Europa League despite his side’s youth and inexperience, in what looked to have been a considerable achievement based on their mid-season form.
However last week he left the club by mutual consent, leaving the west London outfit on the hunt for a new manager, with Enzo Maresca having moved to the front of the pack after holding talks with the club.
‘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).
He referenced the 115 charges being faced by Man City, and seemed to make an allusion to Man United’s treatment of Jadon Sancho
The German also joked that he wouldn’t have lasted more than a year under Chelsea owner Todd Boehly
Boehly’s Chelsea parted ways with Mauricio Pochettino despite the Argentine guiding them back into European football
‘Finally they (Chelsea) play football which everyone thinks “Oh, they might be back” and then they sack the manager anyway.
‘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.’
Finally it was the turn of arch-nemesis Man United, who appeared to cop some disapproval from Klopp over their handling of Jadon Sancho, the German boss insinuating that rather than send the player off on loan it was United’s job to help nurture the player back into his best form at Old Trafford.
‘If the whole world loses trust and faith in the player, the manager has to be the one behind the player,’ he added.
‘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!’
