Liverpool players ‘had been calling this season The Last Dance but none of them were expecting this announcement from Jurgen Klopp’

The footballing world was shocked by Jurgen Klopp‘s announcement that he will leave Liverpool at the end of the season… and his players were too.

Klopp has made the surprise revelation this will be his final season at Anfield on Friday, admitting he is ‘running out of energy’ after entering into his ninth year in charge of the club. 

And The Athletic have given some insight into what led to the decision and why now was the time to make it public.

The decision would have perhaps have caused less of a stir had it been made last season, where the Reds struggled throughout and ultimately finished fifth.

However, Klopp has quickly turned things round and his his side sitting top of the Premier League with 17 games to go.

Klopp reportedly felt a responsibility to get the team back on track and having done so there was a feeling that he was going nowhere anytime soon.

But the job, and his increasing responsibilities following the departures of executives, has taken its toll.

Some players within the squad had been labelling this season ‘The Last Dance’, a reference to Netflix’s Michael Jordan documentary.

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They believed Klopp was committed to achieving something special with this team once more but none of them saw this coming.

Both players and staff are said to have been left in ‘complete and utter shock’ with some staff members even being reduced to tears.

Klopp gave a short speech to the group before Friday’s training session, joking that his decision was partly their fault because they had turned things around so quickly and it would be easier to pass on the baton.

Leaving the club in a strong position was of vital importance to the German, who cares deeply about his legacy.

Klopp harbored concerns that the news could impact the session that followed but he was thrilled to see his players get straight back to work as normal.

He told his players there is a big opportunity to ‘write more chapters’ before his reign comes to an end and is confident that his decision will only galvanise the group.