Rafael Benitez has claimed to be privy to ‘inside’ information on why Jurgen Klopp has decided to step down as Liverpool manager at the end of the season.
The 56-year-old’s bombshell announcement last Friday came as a seismic shock to Reds supporters and the world of football in general, although one of his predecessors has said that he’d heard reasons from sources close to the epicentre of the story as to why the decision was taken.
The Spaniard told reporters (via GOAL): “I have an advantage, which is that I have people in Liverpool and also people at the club, so more or less, I know how it has happened.
“I only have positive words about Klopp, because he is my friend and I have a good relationship with him. He [Klopp] has done and is doing an enormous job. Everything I can say about Klopp and Liverpool is positive.
“I know something else from inside, and it has more merit than being there. He goes and speaks up, giving the club time to reorganise, which, from another perspective, is also very German, because they do notify in advance, so it is not a shock.
“Let’s hope Liverpool will do well for now and when another coach comes too. I hope the best for the club.”
It’s been nearly 14 years since Benitez’s time as Liverpool manager came to an end, although he briefly found himself back in the city when taking the Everton job for the first half of the 2021/22 season before his prompt dismissal.
It seems that he’s still in regular contact with certain parties from inside Anfield, and his assertion that the case for Klopp leaving this year would have ‘more merit’ than him fulfilling his contract until 2026 appears to correlate with the German attributing his exit decision to ‘running out of energy’.
The timing has certainly caught many people off guard, with no surge of rumours beforehand that he’d consider walking away from the job, and with the Reds enjoying a resurgent campaign following their struggles this time last year.
Alas, we now know that the 56-year-old will only be Liverpool’s manager for four more months – still enough time to ensure that he could hand over a Premier League-winning squad to his successor in the summer.