Jürgen Klopp has officially announced that he will be taking a sabbatical from football for "the time being." After seven emotionally-draining years at the helm of Borussia Dortmund, the 47-year-old has signalled his intentions to take a break so as to recharge his batteries.

Heavily linked with potential management positions at clubs such as Liverpool, Fenerbache, Napoli and Real Madrid, Klopp made the decision with his adviser, Marc Kosicke, and his family, following Saturday's 1-3 defeat to VfL Wolfsburg, which was his final time in charge of Der BVB. 

After seven intensive and emotional years of ‘true love’ I think it makes sense to take time to take stock of the countless memories before me and my fellow coaching team embrace a new challenge, fresh and highly motivated,” Klopp quipped.

Under Klopp's guidance, Borussia Dortmund had won both the Bundesliga and the German Cup twice, as well as reaching the 2013 Champions League final. This season, however, had been a disaster in terms of league form. At one point, Dortmund sat at the bottom of the Bundesliga rankings, but a late surge could see them only vault to seventh position.

Thomas Tuchel is set to fill the vacant postion as Borussia Dortmund's new manager.

German legend Franz Beckenbaeuer had earlier tipped Klopp to take the reins at S.S.C Napoli over heavy favourites Liverpool, while Klopp himself had added fuel to the fire when it had been suspected that he had been in Istanbul undergoing contract talks by stating “You don’t have to believe every dumbass who tweets something,”.

The German Bundesliga will miss the enigmatic, enthusiastic genius that is Jürgen Klopp.

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Sean Tansley
Budding sports journalist and unbiased Liverpool fan.