'I would call it a love affair,' Klopp's farewell message on Insta
Jürgen Klopp has opened an Instagram account to thank Liverpool fans and stay in touch with them beyond his almost nine years as club manager which come to an end on Sunday.
"Dear Liverpudlians. We're getting closer to the end. On the 8th of October 2015 we met the first time properly. I would call it a love affair," Klopp said in a two-minute video on his new Kloppo account.
"From the first day it was an absolutely incredible, incredible affair. I enjoyed it so much and want to thank you so much for all the support you gave us over the years. For all the power you gave us.
"I've wondered always that it feels like we write a story together and that's how it feels today. It's a good book. And if we read it in the future we will have a smile on our face.
"Leaving this place is incredibly hard. But, I want to stay in contact with you. And even when I'm not a social media guy people told me social media helps with this. So, here we go. See you!" Klopp said in the post which received more than 700,000 likes in two hours.
The video included snippets from matches and news conferences, including where the German labelled himself "the normal one" upon his arrival, as opposed to "the special one" Jose Mourinho.
Klopp won a host of titles with the Reds, including the Champions League in 2019 and a first Premier League trophy in three decades in 2020. His last one was in the League Cup this season.
Klopp said in January that he will step down after the season, with Sunday's Premier League finale against Wolverhampton Wanderers his last game.
Former Liverpool midfielder Dietmar Hamann told dpa that Klopp has cult status due to his success with the team and his overall appearance, and expects his fellow German to be honoured with a statue at Anfield, just like legendary Reds manager Bill Shankly.
"The bond between fans and players and coaches is what makes the club. But I don't think any other coach has given them this love in return," Hamann told dpa.
"That's why I think they'll build a statue of him alongside Bill Shankly, immortalize him."
Hamann, who played for Liverpool 1999-2006 and was part of the team that came from three goals down to beat AC Milan in the 2005 Champions League final, said that Klopp "changed the mindset at the club and in the whole city.
"He will go down in the history books and I think you can speak of an era in this age," Sky TV pundit Hamann said.
Hamann added that Klopp's successor, revealed to be Dutchman Arne Slot who comes from Feyenoord, will have a difficult start after the Klopp era.
"It will be difficult, of course. You saw at Man United and Arsenal what happened after [Sir Alex] Ferguson and [Arsene] Wenger left," Hamann said.
However, Hamann also spoke of a chance for the new man because Klopp already started reshaping the team this term and Slot won't have to start from scratch.
"If the new coach had come in last year, it would have been impossible. It's perhaps also a reason why Klopp stayed on this year. Now they have a very decent team," Hamann said.
