Jurgen Klopp explains motivation behind staying at Liverpool
By Sean Walsh
Jurgen Klopp has admitted his desire to oversee a rebuild was one of the main reasons he signed a new Liverpool contract last year.
The German's previous deal was set to expire in 2024 and it was expected that he would either wait until then before committing his future or walk away from the job altogether.
Instead, he penned a two-year contract extension back in April 2022, though the Reds' fortunes have suffered since.
While they beat Chelsea in last season's FA Cup final, Liverpool missed out on an unprecedented quadruple at the last hurdles of their Premier League and Champions League campaigns.
Their 2022/23 campaign has been abysmal too, sitting eighth in the Premier League table, eliminated from both domestic cup competitions in the early rounds and embarrassed by Real Madrid in the Champions League.
Liverpool are in need of new players and an evolution in order to become contenders again, but Klopp has revealed this was a key reason behind his decision to stay at Anfield.
On this edition of Talking Transfers, part of the 90min podcast network, Scott Saunders, Graeme Bailey & Toby Cudworth discuss Mauricio Pochettino turning down Chelsea, Leeds and West Ham's manager situation, Mason Mount links to Liverpool, Man City's interest in Declan Rice & more.
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"We cannot make four transfers before we know who will leave the club," he said of Liverpool's rebuild. "I knew it would be tricky, that is one of the main reasons I signed a new contract.
"Not because I’m that great just because imagine the same situation with another coach. Everyone would have said ‘Bring Klopp back’. We don’t have that.
"Some of them want me out, that’s fine, I can understand that as well. But it is about the stability we can get in. Last season was not a season for big change.
"We played until the last moment and if you want to change at this club you cannot just bring in new players and realise 'Oh, no one wants to leave'. It doesn’t work like that."