Jurgen Klopp reveals Liverpool return date | OneFootball

Former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has revealed that he will return to Anfield only once the club have already mathematically sealed this season's Premier League title.

Klopp stunned Merseyside en masse with his decision to step down as Liverpool boss at the end of last season. The adored German coach is yet to return to the stadium he called home for nine years, watching on from afar as Arne Slot has guided the club to a 13-point lead at the Premier League summit, the Champions League round of 16 and a Carabao Cup final.

Despite amassing more than 90 Premier League points in three different seasons, Klopp only lifted one top-flight title during his legendary tenure. However, there appears to be no ill-will towards his triumphant successor.

During a Q&A session at the ten-year anniversary of Hout Bay United Football Community, a Cape Town-based charity Klopp has a long-standing relationship with, the ex-Reds boss was asked whether he would return to Merseyside for an open-top bus parade in the increasingly likely event that Liverpool win the Premier League title.

"Yes, the plan is [to be in Liverpool] but not on the bus, I will be there with the people I saw on the bus. That's the idea to be honest, but we will see," Klopp told the audience, as quoted by South African outlet news24.

Jurgen Klopp is not short of fans at Anfield / Clive Brunskill/GettyImages

Klopp also explained why he had distanced himself from a city he vowed to defend "forever".

"I think I will be there for the last game," the 57-year-old noted. "I didn't want to go earlier to be honest because I didn't want to jinx it all the time. If I'm in the stadium for the first time and they lose, 'oh f*** sake'. So I go there when it's decided."

Other legendary bosses have taken different approaches. Sir Alex Ferguson almost immediately moved from the Manchester United dugout to the directors' box after handing over the reins to David Moyes in 2013, while Arsene Wenger waited more than four years before returning to Arsenal's Emirates Stadium.

Liverpool have a uniquely successful history of replacing influential managers - one which Slot is continuing - that began when Bill Shankly stepped down in 1974. Much like Klopp, the eminently quotable Scot stunned the city with his decision to depart and made way for a new coach who enjoyed immense success.

However, Shankly, who soon regretted his drastic career choice, had to be banned from the club's training ground in the months after he retired. Klopp has kept his distance thus far, but will be welcomed back with open arms at the end of a triumphant campaign.