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Bundesliga giants Borussia Dortmund have confirmed that manager Jurgen Klopp will leave the club at the end of the season. He will leave them despite his contract with Dortmund running till June 2018.
German daily Bild had earlier broken a story suggesting that Klopp had indicated that he wants to leave Dortmund, and both the manager and the club confirmed the same in a press conference just a while ago.
At the press conference, Klopp said, "I always said in that moment where I believe I am not the perfect coach anymore for this extraordinary club I will say so. I chose this time to announce it because in the last years some player decisions were made late and you couldn't react.”
When asked about his future plans he said, “I really think the decision is the right one. This club deserves to be coached from the 100 % right manager. It's not that I am tired, I don't have any contact with another club but I don't plan to take a year off either. I have one final dream with Borussia Dortmund. A great final position in the table and to be on a truck at Borsigplatz one last time.”
"I had no problems with any of the players. I believe Borussia Dortmund needs a change. This is a time where the planning for the new season starts. That's why this decision for the future had to be made now.”
“We still have a lot of work to do now. This is a decision for next season and we'll concentrate on finishing this season now. The club deserves to fulfill it's potential again without constantly being reminded of the (very successful) past."
When he was asked if he had spoken to his players about the same, he said, “I had no time to inform the team yet. I will talk to them in a bit.“
He also indicated that his love for the club remained the same, saying, “It’s not like I am out of this world. I already reserved myself 3 season tickets.“
Borussia Dortmund’s Sporting Manager Michael Zorc said to Klopp, “I think we wrote a modern fairytale in the last years with you as the key figure, Jürgen. Everyone at BVB especially the players should give you the sending off you deserve in the next weeks.”
When asked about a replacement, the club’s Director, Hans-Joachim Watzke, said, “We won’t answer any questions about when we announce a new manager yet either.”
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His decision to leave comes at the end of a tumultuous season, where the team have struggled for form and find themselves 10th in the league standings, after having been in the relegation zone for some time.
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Dortmund will have to work to find a suitable replacement for him, with the former Mainz manager Thomas Tuchel thought to be one of the favourites for the job. Klopp had great success with the club, winning the Bundesliga twice and the DFB Pokal once, apart from leading them to the Champions League final in 2013.
