Borussia Dortmund has confirmed coach Jurgen Klopp will leave the club at the end of the season - June 30.
The 47-year-old German will leave the Bundesliga club
at the end of the season, having asked to be released from his contract,
which is due to run until 2018.
German daily Bild said former Mainz 05 coach Thomas Tuchel is to replace him.
Klopp has coached Dortmund since 2008, taking them to two league titles and the Champions League final
in 2012-13.
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Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke said: "Juergen, the eternal
gratitude of BVB is given to you. What comforts more is friendship will
remain."
And Klopp himself told the press conference: "No one must be
grateful to me. Both sides have invested a lot and got a lot back. I've
always said that I would say if I'm not the perfect coach for this club.
"I chose this time to announce it because in the last years some
player decisions were made late and you couldn't react."
According to Bild, Klopp will take some time away from
football before returning to management - although it remains to be seen
if that is indeed the case.
He has frequently been linked with Premier League
clubs, including Manchester United before the appointment of Louis van
Gaal, Arsenal during lean spells at the Emirates, and latterly with
defending champions Manchester City, who have dropped to fourth in the
table, 12 points behind leaders Chelsea.
Regarded as one of the most talented coaches in
European football, the charismatic Klopp led Dortmund to two Bundesliga
titles in addition to the Champions League final, in which they were
beaten 2-1 by fellow Germans Bayern Munich at Wembley.
However, this term Dortmund have encountered a
difficult period, and were at one stage bottom of the table before
reaching their current position of 10th, 37 points behind leaders
Bayern.
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