[article="http://bit.ly/29soQmO"]Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has today signed a six-year deal keeping him at Anfield until 2022.
Just days after entering negotiations to stay on Merseyside for the long-term, Klopp and his assistants have penned the contract. It represents a four year extension to his previous terms.
More significantly, it signifies an extraordinary commitment from both sides to the ongoing rebuilding of Liverpool Football Club.
Liverpool have started their pre-season training
It is a record contract for a Liverpool manager – worth upwards of £42 million over the next six years. None of Klopp’s predecessors had the luxury of a deal of such length before. Few managers in world football have the security of such an agreement, particularly at the highest level of the game. It is a most emphatic demonstration of the club’s unshakeable belief in the coach they recruited last October and determination to stand by him whatever is in store over the forthcoming seasons.
For Klopp’s part he has now decided to stay with Liverpool for the same number of seasons he was at Borussia Dortmund and Mainz, his previous clubs. He stayed seven years as manager of those sides.
Liverpool have taken the decision first and foremost because they do not believe there is a manager who is more in tune with how the club should be run – or has more empathy for the ethos of Liverpool as a club and city.
As well as Klopp, his assistants Zeljko Buvac and Peter Krawietz have also signed contract extensions covering the same period. That would have been essential to the manager as he sees himself as head of a coaching team rather than a soloist.
Liverpool’s owners have been craving stability since they bought the club in 2010 and are adamant Klopp is the man to deliver it.
They were aware attractive jobs would become available over the course of the next few years – the German national team could have a vacancy soon, for example – so wanted to act sooner rather than later to keep Klopp’s services. They insist the contract extension is about duration rather than a significant pay increase – Klopp already earning around £7 million a year.
When he joined Liverpool last October Klopp signed a two-and-a-half year deal, although there was an option to trigger an additional season. If his first season in England was a ‘getting to know you’ exercise between manager and board, evidently the working relationship has flourished.
Fenway Sports President Mike Gordon, chairman Tom Werner and Principal Owner John W. Henry believed shortly after they bought Liverpool that Klopp was the ideal fit – they’d also tried to lure him in 2012 – but having finally appointed him last October all their expectations about his qualities have been realised.
Klopp narrowly missed delivering a trophy in his first season when he led Liverpool to the League Cup final and Europa League final.
Jurgen Klopp lost two finals in his first season as Liverpool manager
The contract announcement should go some way to addressing any concerns supporters have about the current squad construction.
A yearly debate as to precisely who was targeting players – the manager or recruitment staff - has been redundant since Klopp took over. He and his scouting and analytical team have regularly made it clear they are working in tandem and trust each other to find and sign the right players. Klopp’s reaffirming of his commitment to Liverpool proves how content he is with the set-up.
The strategy of signing players who will improve and flourish at Liverpool - as opposed to the Manchester City, Manchester United and Chelsea model of buying established, world class ones who demand world record transfer fees and wages well in excess of £150,000 a week – is well-established. It has not been successful in delivering trophies so far, but Liverpool are sure Klopp will make it work at Anfield as he did at Dortmund.
Liverpool supporters have responded very well to Klopp's passion
The Dortmund team Klopp helped to build is flooded with players who were the subject of some of the most high profile transfers in Europe recently – the likes of Mats Hummels, Ilkay Gundogan and Henrikh Mkhitaryan sold this summer and Roberto Lewandowski and Mario Gotze following a similar path previously. Dortmund’s Pierre Emerick Aubameyang is one of the most sought after strikers in world football and could be the next one out of the Bundesliga.
Liverpool see no reason why Klopp can’t repeat the Dortmund blueprint on Merseyside, and if he enjoys similar success winning titles and re-establishing the club in the Champions League there would be far more resistance to selling prized assets.
Liverpool have made four signings so far and expect to add at least two, possibly three, more before the start of the season. They begin their pre-season at Tranmere tonight. [/article]
Just days after entering negotiations to stay on Merseyside for the long-term, Klopp and his assistants have penned the contract. It represents a four year extension to his previous terms.
More significantly, it signifies an extraordinary commitment from both sides to the ongoing rebuilding of Liverpool Football Club.
Liverpool have started their pre-season training
It is a record contract for a Liverpool manager – worth upwards of £42 million over the next six years. None of Klopp’s predecessors had the luxury of a deal of such length before. Few managers in world football have the security of such an agreement, particularly at the highest level of the game. It is a most emphatic demonstration of the club’s unshakeable belief in the coach they recruited last October and determination to stand by him whatever is in store over the forthcoming seasons.
For Klopp’s part he has now decided to stay with Liverpool for the same number of seasons he was at Borussia Dortmund and Mainz, his previous clubs. He stayed seven years as manager of those sides.
Liverpool have taken the decision first and foremost because they do not believe there is a manager who is more in tune with how the club should be run – or has more empathy for the ethos of Liverpool as a club and city.
As well as Klopp, his assistants Zeljko Buvac and Peter Krawietz have also signed contract extensions covering the same period. That would have been essential to the manager as he sees himself as head of a coaching team rather than a soloist.
Liverpool’s owners have been craving stability since they bought the club in 2010 and are adamant Klopp is the man to deliver it.
They were aware attractive jobs would become available over the course of the next few years – the German national team could have a vacancy soon, for example – so wanted to act sooner rather than later to keep Klopp’s services. They insist the contract extension is about duration rather than a significant pay increase – Klopp already earning around £7 million a year.
When he joined Liverpool last October Klopp signed a two-and-a-half year deal, although there was an option to trigger an additional season. If his first season in England was a ‘getting to know you’ exercise between manager and board, evidently the working relationship has flourished.
Fenway Sports President Mike Gordon, chairman Tom Werner and Principal Owner John W. Henry believed shortly after they bought Liverpool that Klopp was the ideal fit – they’d also tried to lure him in 2012 – but having finally appointed him last October all their expectations about his qualities have been realised.
Klopp narrowly missed delivering a trophy in his first season when he led Liverpool to the League Cup final and Europa League final.
Jurgen Klopp lost two finals in his first season as Liverpool manager
The contract announcement should go some way to addressing any concerns supporters have about the current squad construction.
A yearly debate as to precisely who was targeting players – the manager or recruitment staff - has been redundant since Klopp took over. He and his scouting and analytical team have regularly made it clear they are working in tandem and trust each other to find and sign the right players. Klopp’s reaffirming of his commitment to Liverpool proves how content he is with the set-up.
The strategy of signing players who will improve and flourish at Liverpool - as opposed to the Manchester City, Manchester United and Chelsea model of buying established, world class ones who demand world record transfer fees and wages well in excess of £150,000 a week – is well-established. It has not been successful in delivering trophies so far, but Liverpool are sure Klopp will make it work at Anfield as he did at Dortmund.
Liverpool supporters have responded very well to Klopp's passion
The Dortmund team Klopp helped to build is flooded with players who were the subject of some of the most high profile transfers in Europe recently – the likes of Mats Hummels, Ilkay Gundogan and Henrikh Mkhitaryan sold this summer and Roberto Lewandowski and Mario Gotze following a similar path previously. Dortmund’s Pierre Emerick Aubameyang is one of the most sought after strikers in world football and could be the next one out of the Bundesliga.
Liverpool see no reason why Klopp can’t repeat the Dortmund blueprint on Merseyside, and if he enjoys similar success winning titles and re-establishing the club in the Champions League there would be far more resistance to selling prized assets.
Liverpool have made four signings so far and expect to add at least two, possibly three, more before the start of the season. They begin their pre-season at Tranmere tonight. [/article]
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