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• Liverpool 'ahead of schedule', says departing Klopp ahead of Slot arrival

  Jurgen Klopp says Liverpool are "ahead of schedule" after suggesting their third-placed finish in the Premier League marks a "statement" in a challenging competition.

  Reds manager Klopp took charge of his final game with Liverpool in Sunday's 2-0 victory over Wolves, with Alexis Mac Allister and Jarell Quansah both on target in the first half at Anfield.

  Liverpool threatened a title challenge midway through this campaign but fell away from contention alongside Arsenal and eventual winners Manchester City, settling for Champions League football next term.

  Klopp refuted suggestions Liverpool need a significant "overhaul" as Feyenoord head coach Arne Slot prepares to start his tenure at Anfield next season.

  "I'm sure you will all agree there does not need to be an overhaul," the departing Liverpool manager told Sky Sports after his emotional farewell on the pitch.

  "We finished third. We were ahead of schedule. It's a statement in this strong league and I'm absolutely fine with that."

  Klopp announced his intentions to leave back in January, with Sunday marking a memorable goodbye for the former Borussia Dortmund head coach.

  "I thought it might be more sad in the beginning but when people realise, it's all good," he continued.

  "If I carry on, these guys and others will say 'he's been there too long'. You have to be the spark. I love the squad. There is so much potential. They will make changes here and there.

  "There has been such a long lead-up to this day and it was really intense. I had my bad moments as well but thank God, not today.

  "I'm just thankful for what has happened, when you are in it, you forget sometimes how great it is. You take it for granted.

  "Now I stand here, I'm just so happy I'm a part of the club's history. It's wonderful."

  Klopp believes he leaves Liverpool having played the most entertaining football, even if his tenure ended with fewer trophies than some seasons merited due to the brilliance of Pep Guardiola's Man City.

  "It's so super special that it's difficult to explain," Klopp added. "We live in a world where it's all about results for others.

  "We learn that not getting absolutely everything is fine. It's such a massive lesson for life. It's not about that, it's about the journey and the togetherness and that's what I love. Things might not always go perfect.

  "The other clubs, with the most money and the best managers, they win it. We didn't have the best manager and never had the best team but for a while we played the best football and I love that.

  "We are a rock-solid club and don't overspend. People say 'you didn't spend enough.' What the heck do you want? I just understand this from the Liverpool way."

• Foden has 'cemented himself as one of Man City's greats', says Ferdinand

  Phil Foden "cemented his place as a Manchester City great" after his two goals helped the club to a record-breaking fourth successive Premier League title, according to former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand.

  Pep Guardiola's side made history as they maintained their grip on the Premier League trophy following a 3-1 victory over West Ham at the Etihad Stadium on the final day of the season.

  Foden - recently named the division's Player of the Year - played another starring role for the Citizens with a brace, including a 25-yard thunderbolt after just 78 seconds, while Rodri's second-half strike completed the victory.

  Ferdinand, who won three consecutive Premier League titles with United between 2007 and 2009, believes the attacking midfielder has joined a pantheon of club legends as he saluted City's resilience and determination to keep on winning. 

  "It's hard to explain how difficult that is - to continually reboot and go again," the former defender told TNT Sports. "The daily pressure to get up and go every day is a relentless pursuit of elite performance.

  "You have to respect it - the individuals there are fantastic. The top players have moments where you cement yourself as one of the club's greats - I'm not going to go too early, but Foden has done that today."

  Still only 23 years old, Foden is the youngest player in history to win six Premier League titles with his home club.

  Gary Neville - an eight-time champion with United who also won three on the bounce between 1999 and 2001 - also paid tribute to the England international.

  "Phil Foden is a local hero. What a player!" he told Sky Sports. "Pep Guardiola has designed a style of football that is being copied not just around this country, but all around Europe.

  "Most of all, he is a winning machine that instils that in everybody who works with him."

• Klopp calls on Liverpool supporters to believe after Anfield farewell

  Jurgen Klopp hopes his departure from Liverpool marks the start of something special, rather than an end, after imploring the Reds to keep believing in an emotional farewell.

  Liverpool manager Klopp announced back in January he would leave at the end of this campaign, signing off with a 2-0 win over Wolves at Anfield on day where the Reds celebrated their much-loved boss.

  Alexis Mac Allister and Jarell Quansah were both on target in the first half after Nelson Semedo's 28th-minute red card, though the result mattered for little in truth with the focus on Klopp's exit.

  The Anfield crowd filled up earlier than normal before kick-off to serenade their German manager, who leaves with a Premier League crown and Champions League glory to his name, and those tributes continued throughout Sunday's victory.

  Klopp was emotional on the touchline as Anfield's Kop End raised as one to laud their departing boss, who urged Liverpool to back incoming manager Arne Slot and create further history on Merseyside.

  "It doesn't feel like an end," Klopp said on the pitch, microphone in hand and addressing the packed-out Anfield. 

  "It just feels like a start. Today I saw a football team play full of talent, youth, creativity, desire, and greed. That's one part of development, that's what you need obviously.

  "In these few weeks where I have had too much attention, I realised lots of things. People say I turned them from doubters into believers. That's not true, you did it.

  "Nobody tells you to stop believing. This club is in a better moment than a long time.

  "We have this wonderful stadium, training centre and you – the superpower of world football, wow.

  "We decide if we are worried or excited. We decide if we believe. We decide if we trust or don't trust. Today I am one of you and I keep believing. I stay believing 100 per cent.

  "Obviously I saw a lot of people crying and I will tonight too because I will miss people but change is good. Everything will be fine because the basics are 100 per cent there."

  Klopp brings his nine-year tenure at Liverpool to an end as Feyenoord head coach Slot prepares to move to Anfield next term.

  Former Borussia Dortmund head coach Klopp, before starting an impromptu chant to celebrate the incoming Slot, wants Liverpool supporters to welcome their new leader with open arms.

  "Thank you," he said, before referencing his own song from the crowd. "If you sing that song next year, that would be funny.

  "You welcome the new manager like you welcomed me. You go all in from the first day, you keep believing, you push the team. I'm one of you now, I love you to bits.

  "You are the best team in the world!"

  Klopp led Liverpool to the club's highest-ever league points tally (99 in 2019-20), best-ever league winning run (18 from October 2019 to February 2020), and most wins and goals in a single season in all competitions (46 wins, 147 goals in 2021-22).

  He leaves Liverpool with 209 wins from 334 Premier League games, with his Reds scoring 714 goals and conceding just 331 across his successful period at Anfield.