Liverpool fans (Getty Images)
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp was overcome with emotion as he dedicated the club’s first league title in 30 years to the fans on Thursday.
Klopp urged supporters not to congregate around Liverpool’s famous Anfield stadium with social distancing guidelines still in place due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“It’s such a big moment, I am completely overwhelmed,” Klopp told Sky Sports.
“Tonight it is for you out there,” added Klopp.
“It’s incredible. I hope you stay at home, or go in front of your house if you want, but not more. We do it together in this moment and it is a joy to do it for you.”
The German promised that the club will recreate the mass scenes of celebration on a parade through the city that followed last season’s Champions League win when it is safe to do so.
“We will create pictures in the future with the parade whenever it will be for all our supporters,” added Klopp. “We will be together and enjoy this in a proper manner.”
The long-awaited title was clinched without Liverpool kicking a ball as Manchester City’s 2-1 defeat at Chelsea meant Klopp’s men have an unassailable 23-point lead at the top of the Premier League with seven games to play.
A first league title in three decades caps a meteoric rise for the Reds back to the top of the English game after Klopp arrived in 2015 with the club struggling just to break into the top four.
But the former Borussia Dortmund coach remains hungry for more silverware in the coming years with most of his squad still in their prime.
“What they did over the last two or three years is just exceptional and a pure joy for me to coach them,” said Klopp, who watched City’s defeat alongside his players at a hotel.
“It’s just been a really exciting ride from the first day I arrived and it is not over yet, that’s the good thing.
“The team all look like they have a good few years in their legs but for tonight we just enjoy this moment. It is the best thing I can imagine, it’s more than I ever dreamed of to be honest.”
Liverpool’s long wait was extended by three months due to football’s shutdown in March because of COVID-19 and Klopp expressed his relief at finally getting over the line.
“It’s a relief because of the three months interruption, nobody knew how it would go on. Then you don’t know 100 percent how you will come back.”
