FSG give intriguing hint over next Liverpool move after Jurgen Klopp contract

Less than 12 months ago, signing a contract extension was perhaps the last thing on the mind of Jurgen Klopp.

Liverpool had just finished an arduous, hugely challenging and unprecedented season by somehow salvaging Champions League qualification on the final weekend. And the Reds boss, quite frankly, had had enough.

"I couldn’t have cared less at that moment," recalled Klopp. "Just get through it and that is absolutely true. We were all like really drained. Just finished. Done.”

Such feelings hadn't passed unnoticed. "I'm pretty sure any human being would be ground down at some point," said Liverpool vice-captain James Milner earlier this year. "Maybe he was slightly low on energy at the end of last year like probably everybody was with everything going on in the world, while still being Liverpool manager as well."

Indeed, at one point last campaign, there were even strong rumours Klopp's disillusionment and sheer exhaustion had prompted him to consider quitting. That they were given serious credence by many underlines few would have blamed the German for calling time on a successful Liverpool tenure there and then, let alone at the scheduled end of his contract in 2024. Managing Liverpool isn't for the faint-hearted.

But then gradually things changed. Football stepped out of the cold, grim days of the pandemic era, supporters again began to fill Anfield and beyond, and Liverpool's freakishly unremitting injury list started to clear. And a return to normality was exactly the fillip a jaded Klopp required, not least the renewing in-person of the strong bond between the manager, his players and the fanbase. Certainly, those trademark fist-pumps have taken on extra significance this season.

The transformation has