Mark Lawrenson has revealed what Jurgen Klopp will do in his free time when he leaves Liverpool this summer.
Klopp announced on Friday morning that he will be leaving Anfield at the end of the season, explaining that he needs a break from the game as he is “running out of energy” after nine years on Merseyside.
The 56-year-old was non-committal when asked exactly what he would do next after spending the last 23 years on the touchline, but former Liverpool defender and pundit Lawrenson believes Klopp is already planning a move abroad with his wife, Ulla.
‘I’m not sure I should tell you this, but it’s not a big secret. “They’re going to build a house in Mallorca,” Lawrenson told Off the Ball.
“I have a house somewhere not too far from where he’s building his, and I saw him the other month and said to him after the game, ‘How’s the house going?’
Jurgen Klopp has announced that he will leave Liverpool at the end of the season.
Mark Lawrenson has revealed what Klopp will do when he leaves Anfield this summer
Klopp paid £3.4m to buy the ‘sensational’ house (pictured) in Mallorca in June 2022
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And Ulla, his wife, is in charge of everything in that sense, and he just said, “The damn thing isn’t even ready yet and I’m paying all the bills!” So he’ll probably retire there for a while, he would suggest.
Klopp bought the house in Mallorca in June 2022 for 4 million euros (£3.4m) from Swiss businessman and artist Rolf Knie.
It is a 5,000 square meter property and Klopp decided to completely rebuild it, but it is not finished yet.
Klopp is understood to stay at a nearby hotel when he visits the island, but that will change when the refurbishment is complete.
While progress on the home has not been rapid, Lawrenson insisted the wait will be worth it.
Klopp, pictured with his wife Ulla and dog Emma in 2013. Klopp met Ulla in 2005.
‘I can tell you now that it’s not a good mistake, it’s an absolutely fabulous mistake. “It’s sensational, it really is,” Lawrenson added.
Speaking about his future at a press conference on Friday, Klopp stated that he wanted to try and live a “normal life” when he leaves Liverpool and insisted he would not return to the dugout for at least a year.
‘I have never lived a (normal) life. That’s true,’ she said. ‘Having three or four weeks in the summer was enough, but not anymore.
‘No club, no country next year, no other English club ever, I can promise. Even if I have nothing to eat, it won’t happen.’
It now looks like he will spend more time with Ulla, who has had a huge influence on Klopp’s key decisions over the years.
Klopp’s admission of exhaustion reflects when he left his previous club, Borussia Dortmund, after Ulla was said to have played a major role in his departure.
Klopp’s wife Ulla has been an influential voice at key moments in his career
Klopp was asked about Ulla’s influence on her resignation and said she was “happy” with her decision.
She had also been instrumental in him signing a new contract extension in 2022. The couple met while Ulla was working as a waitress in a bar in Munich before marrying in 2005.
“I had to explain it, of course I had to,” he said. ‘It wasn’t like, “Oh, thank God.” You must not misunderstand. You are welcome.
“Obviously Ulla wants me to do well and be well, and when she realized that I had it very clear, [his decision]She’s happy for me.’