Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp, whose side including Japan captain Wataru Endo sit atop the English Premier League, announced Friday he will leave the club at the end of the season.
The 56-year-old German took charge of Liverpool in October 2015 and guided them to the Champions League trophy in the 2018-19 season as well as their first English top-flight title in 30 years the following campaign.
Klopp signed Endo from Stuttgart over the summer and his side could still win all four trophies available to them this term after reaching the League Cup final as well as advancing in the FA Cup and Europa League.
"I can understand that that's a shock for a lot of people in this moment," Klopp said on Liverpool's website. "It is that I am, how can I say it, running out of energy."
"In an ideal world I wouldn't have said anything to anybody until the end of the season, win everything and then say goodbye. In the world we are living in, it's not possible to keep things like this secret."
Klopp, known for his high-pressing style of football, has signed Japanese talents over the years, starting with Shinji Kagawa from Cerezo Osaka in 2010 and again in 2014 following the playmaker's two-year spell at Manchester United.
Takumi Minamino joined Klopp's Liverpool from Red Bull Salzburg during the 2020 January transfer window in their league-winning campaign, also helping them to win the League Cup and FA Cup double two seasons later.
