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Jurgen Klopp has extended his contract with Liverpool until 2024, making his commitment to the club the longest in his managerial career as he targets further domestic and continental dominance.
The German spent seven years at the helm of Mainz before repeating that length of tenure with Borussia Dortmund, but his stint at Anfield would total over eight-and-a-half years.
The news is colossal for the European champions, who had feared Klopp would take a sabbatical when his previous terms expired in 2022 given his all-or-nothing approach to the job and comments about considering a break.
However, with Liverpool’s on-pitch advancement continuing at a relentless pace to match their off-pitch mega moves - the construction of a new £50million training complex and proposals for the redevelopment of the Anfield Road End - the 52-year-old wanted to further knot his future to that of the club.
Assistant managers Peter Krawietz and Pepijn Lijnders have also signed deal extensions to run concurrently with Klopp’s as they work on establishing the Merseysiders as the pre-eminent force in England and Europe with the help of sporting director Michael Edwards.
Best photos from the Champions League final: Tottenham 0-2 LiverpoolShow all 100 1 /100Best photos from the Champions League final: Tottenham 0-2 Liverpool Best photos from the Champions League final: Tottenham 0-2 Liverpool Champions League final The story of Liverpool's Champions League victory
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Best photos from the Champions League final: Tottenham 0-2 Liverpool Champions League final The ultimate prize in European football sits pitchside before kick-off
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Best photos from the Champions League final: Tottenham 0-2 Liverpool Champions League final Liverpool fans before kick-off
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Best photos from the Champions League final: Tottenham 0-2 Liverpool Champions League final
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Best photos from the Champions League final: Tottenham 0-2 Liverpool Champions League final
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Best photos from the Champions League final: Tottenham 0-2 Liverpool Champions League final
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Best photos from the Champions League final: Tottenham 0-2 Liverpool Champions League final The Egyptian drives the ball down the middle as Hugo Lloris dives to his left
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Best photos from the Champions League final: Tottenham 0-2 Liverpool Champions League final
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Best photos from the Champions League final: Tottenham 0-2 Liverpool Champions League final
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Best photos from the Champions League final: Tottenham 0-2 Liverpool Champions League final
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Best photos from the Champions League final: Tottenham 0-2 Liverpool Champions League final
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Best photos from the Champions League final: Tottenham 0-2 Liverpool Champions League final
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Best photos from the Champions League final: Tottenham 0-2 Liverpool Champions League final Mauricio Pochettino and Jurgen Klopp shake hands
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Best photos from the Champions League final: Tottenham 0-2 Liverpool Champions League final
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Best photos from the Champions League final: Tottenham 0-2 Liverpool Champions League final
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Best photos from the Champions League final: Tottenham 0-2 Liverpool Champions League final
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Best photos from the Champions League final: Tottenham 0-2 Liverpool Champions League final
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Best photos from the Champions League final: Tottenham 0-2 Liverpool Champions League final
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Best photos from the Champions League final: Tottenham 0-2 Liverpool Champions League final
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Best photos from the Champions League final: Tottenham 0-2 Liverpool Champions League final
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Best photos from the Champions League final: Tottenham 0-2 Liverpool Champions League final
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Best photos from the Champions League final: Tottenham 0-2 Liverpool Champions League final
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Best photos from the Champions League final: Tottenham 0-2 Liverpool Champions League final
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Best photos from the Champions League final: Tottenham 0-2 Liverpool Champions League final
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Best photos from the Champions League final: Tottenham 0-2 Liverpool Champions League final
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Best photos from the Champions League final: Tottenham 0-2 Liverpool Champions League final
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Best photos from the Champions League final: Tottenham 0-2 Liverpool Champions League final
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Best photos from the Champions League final: Tottenham 0-2 Liverpool Champions League final
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Best photos from the Champions League final: Tottenham 0-2 Liverpool Champions League final
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Best photos from the Champions League final: Tottenham 0-2 Liverpool Champions League final
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Best photos from the Champions League final: Tottenham 0-2 Liverpool Champions League final
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Best photos from the Champions League final: Tottenham 0-2 Liverpool Champions League final Alberto Moreno lifts the trophy wearing a t-shirt dedicated to Jose Antonio Reyes
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Best photos from the Champions League final: Tottenham 0-2 Liverpool Champions League final
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Best photos from the Champions League final: Tottenham 0-2 Liverpool Champions League final
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Best photos from the Champions League final: Tottenham 0-2 Liverpool Champions League final
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Best photos from the Champions League final: Tottenham 0-2 Liverpool Champions League final
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Best photos from the Champions League final: Tottenham 0-2 Liverpool Champions League final
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Best photos from the Champions League final: Tottenham 0-2 Liverpool Champions League final
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Best photos from the Champions League final: Tottenham 0-2 Liverpool Champions League final
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“For me personally this is a statement of intent, one which is built on my knowledge of what we as a partnership have achieved so far and what is still there for us to achieve," Klopp told the club's official website. When I see the development of the club and the collaborative work that continues to take place, I feel my contribution can only grow.
“People see what happens on the pitch as a measure of our progress and although it is the best measure, it’s not the only measure. I have seen the commitment from ownership through to every aspect and function of the club you can think of.
“When the call came in autumn 2015, I felt we were perfect for each other; if anything, now I feel I underestimated that. It is only with a total belief that the collaboration remains totally complementary on both sides that I am able to make this commitment to 2024.
“If I didn’t I would not be re-signing. This club is in such a good place, I couldn’t contemplate leaving."
Liverpool’s owners Fenway Sports Group have been unequivocal about wanting the Champions League-winning manager to extend his stay at Anfield, and this development will be celebrated as fiercely in Boston as it is by the fanbase.
Klopp has enabled their ambitious vision across all areas of the club to be enacted and the triumvirate between him, Edwards and FSG president Mike Gordon has ensured sustainable success for the reawakened powerhouse.
With the core of the squad tied to long-term contracts and being of “a good football age” to borrow the manager’s description, Liverpool are primed for more honours.
Under Klopp’s guidance, Liverpool have recorded a club-high 97 points in the league, contested three continental finals - winning a sixth European Cup in June - before lifting the Super Cup.
They are currently England’s pacesetters, eight points ahead of second-placed Leicester and will again be unwanted opponents in the Champions League knockout round.
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