After Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp agreed to extend his contract with the Merseyside club until 2024, Reds owners Fenway Sports Group (FSG) have said that the German is the only manager they would rather have at the helm of affairs.
The club announced on Friday that Klopp and his two assistants, Peter Krawietz and Pep Lijnders, have signed a new five-year deal with the club.
The German arrived at Anfield in October 2015. After an impressive season, he signed a new deal in the summer of 2016 and was due to expire in the summer of 2022. Now he has extended his stay at the club. The 52-year-old has lifted his first silverware with the club this year, winning the Champions League in June and the Super Cup in August.
Klopp has also taken Liverpool to the top of the Premier League this season. He has also established an eight-point lead on the table making them odds-on favourites to win their first title since 1990. Liverpool lost only one game in the Premier League last season as they amassed 97 points but missed out on the title by a point to Manchester City.
In a joint statement on Friday, the club owners are confident that more good times are coming for Liverpool with Klopp in charge. The owners also added that the German will oversee ongoing transition from Melwood to the new Kirkby training base.
Liverpool owners’ statement on Klopp’s contract extension
The statement by principal owner John Henry, chairman Tom Werner and FSG president Mike Gordon read: “We are absolutely delighted we have been able to reach an agreement with Jürgen – as well as Peter and Pep – on extending their time with the club.
“As we are sure our supporters would agree, it is truly wonderful news and we are all extremely thrilled, not only professionally, but personally too.
“We feel this represents one of the big moments of our stewardship of Liverpool Football Club so far as we believe there is no better manager than Jürgen. The decision also keeps with the club’s overall strategy of building from a position of strength.
“It means Jürgen will oversee the ongoing transition from Melwood to the new Kirkby training base as the club continues to pursue a vision of being elite in all facets of the industry.
“It also provides us with continuity with the existing football operations management structure, overseen by sporting director Michael Edwards, whose input into the project cannot be overestimated. He has been – and will continue to be – as indispensably important as anyone else to the direction of Liverpool Football Club. In Jürgen and Michael we are blessed with world-class leadership.
“This is a collective partnership that has seen the club reach and then re-establish itself as an elite performer at home and abroad.
“Back in 2015 we used the phrase ‘ideal fit’ when we appointed Jürgen. This continues to apply today and, if anything, the circumstances make it more pertinent. We consider him to be the best there is.
“If Liverpool Football Club were looking to appoint the most outstanding, elite manager for our current status today, Jürgen would be the first choice – no question.
“We believe this deal cements a relationship built on trust and mutual benefit: Jürgen has delivered for LFC and LFC has delivered for Jürgen.
“Both parties have come to the conclusion that by continuing to work together and build on the work of the last four years, the opportunity exists to maximise each other’s potential.”
