Pep Lijnders and Jorg Schmadtke to leave Liverpool following Jurgen Klopp news
A host of staff members are set to leave Liverpool after Jurgen Klopp announced his Anfield exit on Friday morning.
The Liverpool manager arrived on Merseyside in 2015 and quickly established himself as one of the greatest coaches the club has ever had, winning seven trophies to date including the Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup.
However, the 56-year-old will depart Anfield at the end of the current 2023/24 campaign, with a host of his staff set to follow him out the exit door.
Most notably, Pep Lijnders and Peter Krawietz, who are assistant managers to Klopp, will leave at the end of the season, as will elite development coach Vitor Matos.
Lijnders and Krawietz have both been incredibly useful assets to Klopp during his time on Merseyside, the latter also serving under the current Liverpool manager during his time with Borussia Dortmund and Mainz in Germany.
That means there will be an almighty shake-up to the backroom staff and certainly rules out any slim hopes of Lijnders succeeding him in the dugout.
They are not the only changes in staff, however, with Liverpool also announcing that sporting director Jorg Schmadtke will depart Anfield at the end of the January transfer window.
Schmadtke was always seen as a temporary solution following Julian Ward's exit, but was instrumental in the signings of Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai, Wataru Endo and Ryan Gravenberch last summer.
Speaking about Schmadtke's exit, president of Fenway Sports Group Mike Gordon stated: "We would like to place on record our gratitude to Jorg for the important role he has played since joining Liverpool last summer.
"He has made a valuable contribution, both in terms of the support he provided to Jurgen Klopp and the assistance and guidance given to our outstanding football operations department.
"As well as departing with our appreciation for his efforts, we would also like to take this opportunity to offer Jorg and his family our very best wishes for the future."
Schmadtke himself said: "Liverpool is a very special club so to have had the opportunity to work here has been a huge honour for me, even though I knew from the outset that it would only be for a short period.
"I would like to thank everyone – the owners, manager, staff, players and fans – for the support I have been given and offer my best wishes for the rest of this season."