Borussia Dortmund have confirmed that manager Jurgen Klopp will leave the club at the end of the season.
Reports on Wednesday suggested that the 47-year-old was eager to have his contract terminated in the summer.
Klopp has guided Dortmund to six major honours, including two Bundesliga titles, since taking charge of the side in 2008.
However, a poor 2014-15 campaign so far has left the team languishing in 10th place in the table. Dortmund have won just nine of their 28 league matches this season.
It had been claimed that Klopp was looking to take a 12-month break from football, but the German has suggested that he wants to find another job sooner rather than later. Klopp has been linked with Arsenal and Manchester City in recent weeks.
"I chose this time to announce it because in the last years some player decisions were made late and you couldn't react," he told reporters. "It's not that I am tired, I don't have any contact with another club but I don't plan to take a year off either.
"This club deserves a manager who is 100% right for the club, and that's why I made the decision. I always said in that moment where I believe I am not the perfect coach anymore for this extraordinary club I will say so. My last wish is to finish the season in the highest possible position and that we can have an open-top parade with the cup."
Dortmund are back in action on Saturday when they host SC Paderborn in the Bundesliga.
Jack Prescott
