Jurgen Klopp's real reason for leaving Liverpool and what it means for Arne Slot

Jurgen Klopp's exit from Liverpool came sooner than planned

Jurgen Klopp leaves Liverpool having made sure Arne Slot is taking over with the club at their best.

The German sent shockwaves through the football world in January when his unexpected exit from Anfield was announced. There were, however, valid reasons for Klopp's seemingly premature decision, reports the Express.

At the time, his Reds side were still competing on all four fronts before their hopes of a quadruple began to fade. The Telegraph suggested that besides his "running out of energy" confession, Klopp was waiting until Liverpool were once again fighting for trophies before making his exit.

After finishing the previous season without any silverware and in fifth place in the Premier League, Liverpool's excellent start to this campaign alleviated his worries about the need for a significant rebuild. It reassured him that he could depart with the club well-positioned and allow them ample time to plan for the future.

In his heartfelt farewell video, he discussed this by saying: "Last season was kind of a super-difficult season and there were moments when at other clubs probably the decision would have been, 'come on, thank you very much for everything but probably we should split here, or end it here'. That didn't happen here, obviously.

"For me it was super, super, super-important that I can help to bring this team back onto the rails. It was all I was thinking about. When I realised pretty early that happened, it's a really good team with massive potential and a super age group, super characters and all that, then I could start thinking about myself again and that was the outcome. It is not what I want to [do], it is just what I think is 100% right.",

Thanks to savvy signings like Wataru Endo, Alexis Mac Aliister, and Dominik Szoboszlai, Klopp managed to rejuvenate Liverpool's midfield, which had been weakened following the exits of Fabinho, Jordan Henderson, James Milner and Naby Keita a year ago.

Slot will be inheriting far youngers options in the middle of the park, which also includes Ryan Gravenberch. However, the Dutch manager could still have a busy summer transfer window ahead.

Liverpool will likely need to address the departures of Thiago and Joel Matip who are leaving for free. And there could be major shoes to fill if they choose to sell Mohamed Salah before his contract runs out next year, with clubs in the Saudi Pro League expected to show interest again in the 31-year-old.

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