- Jurgen Klopp bid farewell to Liverpool after their victory over Wolves on Sunday
- During his final speech, the German began a chant for incoming boss Arne Slot
- When you’re in the stadium you HAVE to support your own players – Listen to the It’s All Kicking Off! podcast
After his final game in charge of Liverpool, Jurgen Klopp produced an emotional speech before leading chants for incoming manager Arne Slot.
Klopp finished his nine-year reign on a high as the Reds recorded a 2-0 win over Wolves at Anfield after first-half goals from Alexis Mac Allister and Jarell Quansah.
After the full-time whistle, Klopp took to the pitch to address the home crowd and thank them for their unwavering support throughout his time at the club.
The German said: ‘I’m completely surprised, I thought I’m already in pieces, to be honest, but I’m not. I’m so happy, I can’t believe it.
‘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. It’s just incredible. Thank you so much.
‘Honestly, for whatever reason, it doesn’t feel like an end. It just feels like the start, because I saw today a football team playing full of talent, full of youth, full of creativity, full of desire, full of grit.
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‘That’s one part of development, that’s what you need obviously, but obviously since a few weeks I got absolutely too much attention, it’s really uncomfortable, but in this time I realised a lot of things.
‘People told me I turned them from doubters into believers, that’s not true. Believing is an active act, you have to do it yourself. I just said we have to, you did it. That is a big difference.
‘And who tells you, nobody tells you now to stop believing, because this club is in a better moment than, not ever, maybe ever, I’d have to ask Kenny (Dalglish). Probably ever…since a long time (ago), let me say it like that.
‘So we have this wonderful stadium, we have this wonderful training center, we have you, the super power of world football, wow.
‘We decide if they are worried or excited. We decide if we believe or if we don’t believe. We decide if we trust or we don’t trust.
‘Since today I am once of you, and I keep believing in you. I stay a believer, one hundred percent.
During that speech, he began singing the name of his Dutch successor.
With a big grin on his face, Klopp sang: ‘Arne Slot! La, la, la la! Arne Slot! La, la, la, la!’
He then said: ‘When the next season starts you are not waiting to see what’s going on, no you go full throttle into it. You welcome the new manager like you welcome me. You go all in from the first day.
‘And when it’s hard, you keep believing. When it’s difficult, you keep believing and you push the team, for a goal or whatever. I’m one of you now, I love you to bits.’
‘The only thing we don’t have here in this wonderful stadium is the video walls, and I have to tell you, on my jumper is ‘Thank You Luv’ and ‘I Will Never Walk Alone Again’. Thank you for that, you are the best people in the world. Thank you.’
Earlier this week, Slot confirmed that he will succeed Jurgen Klopp at Anfield after the Reds agreed a compensation package that could reach £9.42million with his Rotterdam employers.
Feyenoord released a sleek video in his honour and had him pose on the pitch with the accolades he has brought them.
Slot won the Eredivisie title last season, the KNVB Cup this year, and also led them to the 2022 Europa Conference League final, where they lost to Jose Mourinho‘s Roma.
Feyenoord fans gave Slot an elaborate send-off with a giant banner dedicated to him ahead of their dominant 4-0 triumph over Excelsior on Sunday.
Goals from Gernot Trauner, Ondrej Lingr, David Hancko and Lutsharel Geertruida handed Slot a final game to remember, as Excelsior were relegated from the Eredivisie following the defeat.
Meanwhile, Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold could not hold back the tears after embracing Klopp following his final game in charge at Liverpool.
Van Dijk admitted last month that he was ‘dreading’ Klopp’s departure, which the 56-year-old manager announced back in January.
After embracing all of his players, Klopp spoke to the Anfield crowd and encouraged them to get behind incoming boss Slot.
Klopp then carried out his trademark fist-bumps in front of the Kop as he took the adulation of the fans.
As his players watched on, Alexander-Arnold was also seen crying, having played all of his professional club football under Klopp.
Klopp opted to hand Alexander-Arnold his debut as a teenager in 2017, and the full back has never looked back, becoming one of the best right backs in world football.
After the match, Klopp produces an emotional message and he addressed his Liverpool players for the final time.
In a video that appeared on Liverpool’s official account on X, he said: ‘I love you, that’s all I can say.
‘The football you are able to play is absolutely ridiculous. I can’t wait, watching you developing, making the next steps. We come in third. I don’t even know yet who became champions.
‘You can do that again. I said to you this morning. There might be some people that say to you ‘that’s not enough’, I tell you, they don’t have a clue about football. Could we have done better in 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, and you did that like this (clicks fingers).
‘Then my expectations went (high) and then we couldn’t keep the pace. That’s the problem a little bit.
‘Guys, we come in 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 yourselves, that’s good for squeezing everything out of your career.
‘I just want to say, I love you. It was absolutely outstanding. Thank you for the ride, I’m so proud of you and I’m so proud that I have been allowed to be part of this. Thank you very much, and the sky is the limit for you boys’.