7 months ago
156 Virgil van Dijk has responded in two words when being asked whether he was at all angry when Jürgen Klopp confirmed that he would be leaving Liverpool at the end of the season.
There is no question that Jürgen Klopp made one of the biggest announcements of the campaign back in a lacklustre January transfer window.
Klopp stunned the football world when it was revealed that this season would be his final year as Liverpool manager.
Klopp has established himself as an Anfield legend – which is pretty hard to do at this stage – and Liverpool are back amongst the title contenders in the Premier League.
So the idea of someone else managing the club is odd at this stage. But of course, it will be particularly strange for the players, most of whom signed after the German was appointed.
Virgil van Dijk reflects on news Jurgen Klopp will leave Liverpool this summer
And in an interview with The Times, Virgil van Dijk has provided more of an insight into that particular day. And he was emphatic in his response when he was asked if he was angered by Klopp’s news.
“Definitely not,” he said.
He was then asked if he was saddened.
“A little bit, because it’s the end of an era. I never thought that I was going to be playing at Liverpool without him being the manager. If you think about Liverpool, Jürgen Klopp is one of the first figures that you would think about. He’s part of the culture of the city. And the success that we have has been incredible, what we’ve done since he came to the club. But I think he made that decision for him and his family and he needed that year off. I think he will definitely be back quite quickly because he lives and breathes football. We’ll see,” he added.
Reds boss’ successor has huge job
It is not that surprising that van Dijk felt as he did. Ultimately, Klopp has become synonymous with Liverpool. He is one of those managers who almost naturally becomes bigger than any other figure inside a club.
The Reds have some of the world’s best players right now, with Alisson Becker, van Dijk and Mohamed Salah all having genuine cases for being the standard-setters in their respective positions.
And yet, no-one at the club right now is bigger than Klopp.
It is going to be a monumental task for whoever succeeds him this summer. But there is absolutely no question that Klopp will leave Liverpool in a better place than where he found them.
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