- Jurgen Klopp left Liverpool at the end of last season after nine long years
- He spoke at a special event for about 10,000 fans on Tuesday evening
- Are Pep’s City the best the Premier League has ever seen? Listen to the podcast It’s All Kicking Off
Jurgen Klopp quickly left his Premier League rivals with one last light-hearted joke as he took to the stage for his farewell performance on Tuesday evening.
The 56-year-old was attending a question and answer session at the M&S Bank Arena following the end of the season and his tenure as Liverpool coach after nine long years at Anfield.
The event saw famous faces such as Will Arnett and Daniel Craig pay tribute to the German, who treated fans to one last evening in his company before heading to Mallorca and leaving them in the hands of successor Arne Slot.
In a wide-ranging Q&A event, Klopp readily admitted that joining the club was the second best decision he has ever made – after marrying wife Ulla – and revealed that he had indeed been in talks with Slot.
Yet Klopp was still ready with a few light-hearted jokes at his rivals’ expense despite the emotional nature of the evening, revealing he had been handed an unofficial list of topics to avoid.
Jurgen Klopp aimed for his farewell event on Tuesday night with a number of light-hearted jabs
Klopp also confirmed he had spoken to Arne Slot, Liverpool’s new manager
Slot, who will officially take charge from June 1, has the task of replacing Klopp at Anfield
He said: ‘(broadcaster) TNT – no 12.30 discussion; referees; we don’t talk about Man City – I don’t know why; we don’t talk about financial matters – we don’t know why; VAR’.
Compere for the evening John Bishop then asked Klopp what would happen if the Reds became two league titles richer if an ongoing investigation into Manchester City robs them of their crowns.
City are currently under investigation over 115 alleged charges of breaching Premier League financial rules, although the club has repeatedly and vehemently denied these.
Klopp said: ‘If you organize a bus parade, I will join in. I don’t care how long it takes.’
Klopp then appeared to set his sights on Chelsea as he referenced the recent departure of Mauricio Pochettino.
The Argentine manager managed to guide the Blues to sixth place and a spot in the Europa League despite his side’s youth and inexperience, which appeared to be a significant achievement based on their mid-season form.
However, last week he left the club by mutual consent, leaving the west London side on the hunt for a new manager, with Enzo Maresca having moved to the front of the pack following talks with the club.
‘We should be very happy that we have them (Fenway Sports Group) and not guys who have bought London clubs. I wouldn’t have survived a year at Liverpool (with them).
He referred to the 115 charges Man City were facing, and appeared to make an allusion to Man United’s treatment of Jadon Sancho.
The German also joked that he would not have lasted more than a year under Chelsea owner Todd Boehly
Boehly’s Chelsea parted ways with Mauricio Pochettino despite the Argentine leading them back to European football
‘Finally they (Chelsea) play football where everyone thinks, “Oh, maybe they’ll come back” and then they fire the manager anyway.
‘The owners feel responsible for the club. Are they the best in the world? I don’t know, I can’t say. But they worked very hard. I felt supported.’
Finally, it was the turn of arch-enemy Man United, who appeared to receive some disapproval from Klopp over the handling of Jadon Sancho, the German boss insinuating that, rather than sending the player out on loan, it was United’s job to help player recover. in his best form at Old Trafford.
“If the whole world loses confidence in the player, the manager has to be the one behind the player,” he added.
‘I can’t just believe that ‘he’s useless’, which is what other clubs did anyway: buy a player for £80 million and then loan him out!’