Arsene Wenger resigns: Jürgen Klopp will never manage one club as long as Arsenal rival did, admits Liverpool boss

Liverpool manager hails Wenger’s ‘fantastic career, outstanding personality and a really big player in the business where usually the thing changes overnight’

Jürgen Klopp has said that he cannot see himself managing one club for as long as Arsene Wenger, adding that he does not need football to be happy.

The Liverpool FC manager has made clear that he is content at Anfield, where he has a contract until 2022, but would never stay in a role if it affected his health.

Wenger confirmed on Friday that he would step down as Arsenal manager at the end of this season, 22 years after his arrival at the club.

Klopp, 50, told German television this week that he anticipated ending his coaching career much earlier than many of his contemporaries, saying that “I don’t want to die on the coaching bench”, and added that he would take a one-year break when he eventually leaves Liverpool.

However, he added that it was not a sign that he is struggling to cope with the demands of managing in the Premier League.

Klopp will take a year out after Liverpool and won't manage a club for 22 years (Getty)

He said: “It’s quite intense. That’s how it is, that’s true. I only spoke about it because the [television] interviewer asked me. I love what I do, and I enjoy it. That’s 100 per cent.

“It’s intense but most jobs are intense. The big difference is that we are constantly in focus. Do I need the fact that I am famous, that everybody knows me wherever I go? No, I don’t need it. I don’t feel that special but it happens.

“I would be really happy if that stopped one day. If I stop and think that no one will remember me, that’s not a problem. That’s a dream for me. I don’t need it, but it’s all part of the business.

“We get really well paid. That’s all ok. We can have the life we never dreamed of. But I don’t want to have this life and I cannot walk any more, when I have back problems in the morning and neck problems when I wake up. Life is not only about that.

“I don’t need football to be happy. I love it but I don’t need it. There will be a moment and I don’t know when, when I say: ‘Thank you very much.’”

Klopp, who spent seven years in each of his previous two management jobs, had planned to take a year’s break after leaving Borussia Dortmund in 2015, but interrupted it to come to Liverpool in October that year.

He said that he was surprised at the level of scrutiny he faced early on, and the expectations that he would have an immediate impact in his first match, away at Tottenham.

He said: “When I came in, I had three days training with the boys and everybody was waiting for the impact of the Tottenham game. That’s crazy. There is no impact.

“That’s the job. Everybody wants results immediately. But we deal with that. That’s not a problem. My life is good. Everything is fine. I’m healthy. I’m at a wonderful club. I have a fantastic team. It’s all fine.”

Wenger will leave Arsenal at the end of the season (Getty)

Paying tribute to Wenger, Klopp added: “He was, and is still, an influencer in football. He has a fantastic career, an outstanding personality and a really big player in the business where usually the thing changes overnight and he was there for so long.

“I am not sure if he will go to another club but he looks quite fit and enjoyed the job in the last few years so maybe he will go somewhere else. From my side I wish him all the best and hopefully I can meet him at one point again and tell him that in a personal talk.”

Klopp, meanwhile, made clear he would select a strong side for Saturday’s Premier League trip to West Brom, despite the fact that they face Roma in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final three days later.

He hinted that 40-goal top scorer Mohamed Salah would be involved, saying: “I know your next question will be around line-up and selection for West Brom because Rome is coming after it.

“But we never did it like that, we have to have a strong line-up and respect West Brom and the Premier League. We need all the players and Mo is fit, thank God, at the moment.”