How Jurgen Klopp compares to Liverpool's greatest managers

Liverpool fans were greeted with the devastating news on Friday morning that Jurgen Klopp will step down as manager of the club at the end of the season.

Klopp arrived at Anfield in October 2015 and quickly won over the hearts of Liverpool supporters. He vowed to turn 'doubters into believers', a promise he quickly made good on.

While he could finish the current campaign with a few more, the 56-year-old has won seven trophies during his time on Merseyside, including the Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup.

While his trophy cabinet may not be quite as stacked as some of those who came before him in the Anfield dugout, he will undoubtedly leave as one of the greatest managers the club has ever seen.

But how does Klopp rank in comparison to Liverpool greats such as Bill Shankly, Bob Paisley and Kenny Dalglish?

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GAMES PLAYED & WIN PERCENTAGE

Having spent a little over nine years at Liverpool now, Klopp has plenty of experience on the sidelines for the Reds, especially given the success he has enjoyed annually at Anfield.

In fact, the German has overseen 466 matches, of which he has won a staggering 289. That gives him the second-highest win percentage of any Liverpool manager at 62.02%, with only John McKenna - who took charge of just 36 matches in the late 1800s - bettering his record with a 69.44% win rate.

Bill Shankly enjoyed a significantly longer period at Liverpool than Klopp will, spending just shy of 15 years at Anfield. In that time, he managed a total of 783 matches in the dugout - more than any other coach the club has had.

However, Shankly may be the most iconic Liverpool manager of all time, but he only boasted a win rate of 51.98%.

Bob Paisley took charge of 535 games for the Reds, only slightly more than Klopp, and won 57.57% of them after taking over from Shankly in 1974. Having spent nine years at the club, he won 308 of his matches as Liverpool boss.

Kenny Dalglish's tenure at Liverpool as a manager obviously took place over two spells, the most prominent during the late 1980s. A legendary playing figure, the Scotsman didn't do too badly in the hot-seat.

During his 383 games across his two stints, Dalglish won 58.53% of them, equating to 223 victories.

GOAL DIFFERENCE

Klopp has not only been celebrated for his success at Liverpool, but for the way he has bought into the identity of the club. To nurture that relationship with the club's supporters, he has had to play attacking and intense football - not that he knows any other way.

Fans have often been left in awe of the swashbuckling stuff that the Reds have played under the former Borussia Dortmund manager, with Liverpool having scored a mightily impressive 972 goals in his 466 games in charge.

That's an average of 2.08 per match, while Liverpool have only conceded 469 (average of one per game) at the other end, leaving Klopp with a +503 goal difference as Reds boss.

Out of the Liverpool greats, that's the best attacking average per match, with the next closest being Dalglish. The famous No. 7 oversaw 732 goals in his 381 matches - an average of 1.92 goals per game. Conceding just 332 during his spells as boss, Dalglish finished with a +400 goal difference.

Next up is Paisley, who saw his Liverpool side net 955 in 535 games, while conceding just 406. That's 1.79 scored per match and a goal difference of +549 - better than Klopp and Dalglish.

Shankly did rack up the most goals due to his longevity, seeing his sides score 1307 in 783 (1.66 per match). Having conceded just 766 times, his +541 goal difference is only worse than Paisley's by eight goals.

TROPHIES WON

There is absolutely no doubt about who the most decorated Liverpool manager of all time is, with Paisley having claimed a staggering 20 trophies during his nine years at the helm.

There were six league titles and, most importantly, three European Cups during his reign, although one trophy that did elude him was the FA Cup.

Shankly is the next most successful with 11 different pieces of silverware, including three league titles and two FA Cups.

Dalglish managed ten trophies, nine of which came during his first spell in charge. There were also three league titles and two FA Cups, as well as a League Cup upon his return to Anfield in the early 2010s.

Klopp's success has not been quite as grand but he has managed to win every major trophy available to him bar the Europa League (although that could change this season).

That includes a Champions League triumph in 2019 and Liverpool's first ever Premier League title in 2020.