Key take-aways from Jurgen Klopp's press conference after announcing Liverpool exit

Jurgen Klopp has said he would "rather starve" than manage another English football club after leaving Liverpool.

The 56-year-old German was speaking at his first media conference after dramatically announcing he would be quitting the Anfield hot seat at the end of the 2023-24 Premier league season.

He will leave with six major trophies to his name - and possibly more with Liverpool still competing on four fronts this season.

So what are the main take-aways for Liverpool fans and football observers?

• He said he would never manage another club in English football “even if he has nothing to eat”.

• He said he would play no part in choosing his successor.

• He insisted he would not make a U-turn on his decision to quit, as Sir Alex Ferguson once did at Manchester United.

• He confirmed what he said in his Liverpool FC website video - that tiredness rather than temptation from another club was the reason for his decision, insisting “you have to be the best version of yourself”.

“Whatever will happen in the future I don’t know now, but no club, no country, for the next year, and no other English club ever,” he said at the press conference.

“I can promise that, even if I have nothing to eat that will not happen.”

Speculation has already turned to who could succeed Klopp at Anfield, with Bayer Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso - a former Reds midfielder - installed as the early bookmakers’ favourite.

Alonso insisted his focus was solely on his current role and that he was in “the right place”. Former Reds captain Steven Gerrard, currently with Saudi Arabian side Al Ettifaq, has also been linked.

Klopp insists he will have no input whatsoever to Liverpool’s recruitment process to find his successor.

“The last thing they need is advice from the old man walking out, telling them ‘make sure you bring him in’ or whatever – I will definitely not do that,” Klopp said.

“I wish this club the very, very, very best.”

Klopp was asked whether there was anything that might change his mind and encourage him to stay, in the way former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson went back on his decision to retire at the end of the 2001-02 season.

“No, nothing,” he insisted.

“I respect Sir Alex a lot, I don’t know what drove him that time. I want to win everything this season, but it wouldn’t change my mind. And if we don’t win anything it wouldn’t change my mind. It’s a decision I made independent of any kind of results.”

Klopp had admitted in an in-house interview published earlier on Friday that he was stepping down in the summer because he could feel he was running out of energy, and insisted it could not be his style to offer anything other than 100 per cent commitment.

“You have to be the best version of yourself, especially for a club like Liverpool,” he said.

“I cannot do it on three wheels, it’s just not allowed. I never wanted to be a passenger in all that.”

Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To Know...