Jürgen Klopp, Liverpool FC manager, has this evening (2 November 2023) been awarded the Freedom of Liverpool.
Klopp received the civic honour of Freedom of the City at a special ceremony held at Liverpool Town Hall.
The Mayor of Liverpool, the Lord Mayor, fellow Freeman and LFC legend Sir Kenny Dalglish, and Margaret Aspinall, Chair of the Hillsborough Family Support Group, were all in attendance.
In 2015, he was appointed Liverpool manager and has guided the club to great success, winning the UEFA Champions League in 2019, taking the club to another two finals in 2018 and 2022, and winning the Premier League title for the first time in 2019/20. In the 2021/22 season, the club won both the FA Cup and the EFL Cup.
Jürgen Klopp Said:
“I have to be honest, when I first heard this news I had to take a minute to take it in. As you can imagine, I get a lot of different types of news in my job but this was definitely a ‘Wow’ moment.
“The main reason for this was what Liverpool, the city and its wonderful people, mean to me and my family. The welcome that we have been given has been unbelievable from the word go, so to get this kind of recognition is incredible. It is also very humbling.
“Obviously, I am not from Liverpool so there will be countless people who know more about the history than I do but I actually already knew a little bit about this award. This was because earlier this year it was granted to Andrew Devine, someone who we all had an enormous amount of love for, along with the other 96 victims of Hillsborough.
“I also know that Sir Kenny Dalglish has received the Freedom of the City previously so if my name is listed alongside those and all of the other recipients that makes the honour even more special.
“So to everyone who made this possible – thank you. You have made my family and myself so, so proud to know that the bond we have with this wonderful city has been made even stronger and will now stay for ever.”
Lord Mayor of Liverpool Cllr Roy Gladden said:
“Awarding the Freedom of Liverpool is one of the great honours of the position of Lord Mayor. It is a chance to acknowledge the achievements and service of a wide range of people and organisations on behalf of our city.
“Jürgen Klopp, Sue Johnston and HMS Prince of Wales represent three aspects of Liverpool life that are close to our hearts – sport, culture and the Armed Forces.
“It will be an honour to formally thank them for their hard work, commitment and service.”
Along with Nelson Mandela (1994 award), the reds’ manager is only the second foreign national to receive this honour.
Photo Credit: (Jason Roberts/PA) / PA Wire
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