Former Liverpool star has his own opinion on real reason Jurgen Klopp quit the club

Former Liverpool ace Don Hutchison has hailed Jurgen Klopp’s work at Anfield while sharing a new theory on why the manager left this summer. Klopp waved goodbye to the Reds after an illustrious nine-year stint, having clinched virtually every top honour, including ending a 30-year wait for the Premier League title and securing European glory.

Despite having 12 months left on his contract, Klopp confirmed he was stepping down having grown exhausted with his work on Merseyside. The 57-year-old is lauded for reviving Liverpool’s fortunes and handing over a squad to heir Arne Slot that looks set for sustained success.

Hutchison – who made 60 appearances for Liverpool in the early 1990s – has shed new light on the extraordinary scale of Klopp’s achievements despite the financial firepower of their rivals, as reported by the Liverpool Echo. And the ESPN pundit scrutinised the decade-long spending sprees of his Premier League competitors, inspiring a newfound respect for Klopp’s decision to bow out.

Hutchison wrote on X: “Don’t underestimate the job that [Jurgen] Klopp done at Liverpool winning every single trophy, while Man [United] and Chelsea are spending a BILLION and Man City and Arsenal (I think [Mikel] Arteta £500million) spending outrageous amounts. No wonder Klopp thought I can’t keep doing this. It’s nearly impossible.”

The football world was taken aback when Jurgen Klopp announced his decision to leave Anfield after nearly a decade at the helm. He was always open about his reasons after “running out of energy,” which has led to him taking a break from the sport altogether.

“It is that I am, how can I say it, running out of energy,” Klopp declared at the start of 2024. “I have no problem now, obviously, I knew it already for longer that I will have to announce it at one point, but I am absolutely fine now. I know that I cannot do the job again and again and again and again.”

Successor Slot has yet to flex his muscles in the transfer market, while rivals Chelsea and United who have been the main splurgers in recent weeks, spending around £80m and £90m, respectively. Chelsea have even made a profit so far this summer, though that’s an anomaly given their net spend of a staggering £750m since 2020.

United are the closest to matching that sum among Premier League teams, with a net spend of around £500m in the past four years. Arsenal aren’t far off in that same span, having forked out around £500m on players while bringing in just £100m through sales.

In comparison, Liverpool and Manchester City’s net spend between 2020 and 2024 is closer to £250m, though that Pep Guardiola’s side did their more egregious splashing prior to that. City’s net transfer loss between 2016 and 2021 was around £650m, forming the base for their current dominance while the Reds overspent by only £100m during the first five years of Klopp’s reign.

Kloop also made his share of big buys, with the likes of Virgil van Dijk, Darwin Nunez and Alisson each brought in for substantial sums. However, his time at Liverpool was also dotted with relatively bargain buys like Mohamed Salah, Andy Robertson, Sadio Mane and Joel Matip, often squeezing the best out of players after they arrived under his tutelage and arguably getting more than they paid for.

Liverpool even recorded a transfer profit in several seasons while Klopp was trying to catch up on the Citizens. Not to mention bringing a Premier League crown and Champions League title back to Anfield in the process.

Many fans are still processing the fact Klopp’s iconic reign on Merseyside is over, and Slot has a big task on his hands in living up to his example. However, Hutchison is among those who has a new respect for what drove Klopp to leave earlier than planned given the uphill struggle he faced season after season.