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Wednesday, 15 April 2015

Klopp fuels Man City & Barcelona speculation: I'm not taking a sabbatical

Which team will suit him more between Barca and Man City for you? Jurgen Klopp has put Manchester City and Barcelona on red alert by confirming that he will want to go straight into another job when he parts company with Borussia Dortmund this summer.

The Bundesliga club confirmed on Wednesday that they had agreed to an early termination of the highly-rated trainer's contract, which had been set to run until June 2018.

The dramatic development has immediately sparked speculation linking Klopp with Manchester City, who are reportedly considering sacking coach Manuel Pellegrini.

In addition, Barca supremo Josep Maria Bartomeu and his expected presidential challengers Joan Laporta and Agusti Benedito have already sounded the 47-year-old German out about potentially replacing Luis Enrique at the helm of the Catalan club at the end of the season.

Klopp, who led BVB to the Bundesliga title in 2011 and a domestic double the following year, has now added fuel to the fire by admitting that he has no intention of taking a break from the game, while at the same time insisting that he has yet to receive any concrete offers from abroad.

"It's not that I'm tired," he stated. "I haven't had any contact form another club in England or anywhere else. But I don't intend to have a sabbatical year.

"It's just important that we announce it today so that everyone can adjust to it and the club can plan.

"I believe that Borussia Dortmund actually need a change. A major problem is certainly that as long as I'm here, we're always considering the successes of the past.

"I am sure that this is absolutely the right decision. This team deserves to have a 100 per cent coach on the touchline."

Klopp also humbly played down his role in resurrecting BVB, whom he led to the final of the Champions League in 2013, just eight years after they were left on the brink of bankruptcy.

"No one should be grateful to me," he added. "It is a very fair history in which both sides have given and taken.

"But as I have said several times in recent years, I always wanted to let the club know if I didn't believe that I was the perfect coach for this extraordinary job.

"In the last few days and weeks I've not been sure that I'm the right person. But even I couldn't answer this question properly.

"Therefore, I felt duty-bound to myself and [CEO Hans-Joachim] Watzke to be honest."
However, in explaining the events that led to Klopp's departure, Watzke was keen to pay tribute to the outgoing coach for everything that he has achieved during his reign at Signal Iduna Park.

"We had some talks on Jurgen's initiative and then made the decision that the way we have been working together incredible success over the past seven years comes to an end at the end of the season," he added.

"We have a relationship that is built on trust and friendship. Therefore, it is obviously a difficult situation for us.

"Jurgen, you can be sure that you have the eternal gratitude of BVB."
Thomas Tuchel has been installed as the early favourite to replace Klopp at Signal Iduna Park.

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