Finance expert issues Liverpool warning to avoid same fate as Man Utd & Arsenal after Jurgen Klopp call

Football finance expert Rob Wilson has told Liverpool fans to expect a 'drop-off' when Jurgen Klopp leaves at the end of the season, and drew comparisons with Manchester United.

Klopp recently announced he would be departing the club at the end of the season in a shock reveal and given his legendary status in the city and at the club, it's a colossal blow for anyone involved with the club. After all, he is placed within the elite group of managers to have worked in the Premier League, and his exit will be on par with the likes of Arsene Wenger or Sir Alex Ferguson when they left Arsenal and Manchester United after decades at their clubs.

As it stands, Liverpool are currently embroiled in a three-way title race, favourites for the Europa League, in the fifth round of the FA Cup and are preparing a Carabao Cup final against Chelsea. Their successes this season could be great, but the fallout of trophy disappointments could also cast a dark cloud over what is Klopp's final season. His departure is a telling blow regardless, and the post Klopp-era is a reality that fans simply do not want to live in after eight successful years on Merseyside.

Speaking to OLBG, Wilson, who is a football finance expert and professor of economics at Sheffield Business School, claimed that Liverpool are likely to experience a drop-off in the future as Klopp leaves, similar to what Manchester United and Arsenal went through following the departure of their legendary managerial figures. "FSG will have seen how bad it is at Manchester United, and you'd imagine that they'll be searching for as many answers as they can get." He began.

"The reality is, though, that any long-serving manager will have their fingerprints everywhere from the ticket office to the academy, and the first team. Removing that figurehead will always, by nature, result in changes as whoever comes in is not Jurgen Klopp! That will have a disruptive impact on the organisation and, in my view, the sporting performance. Get ready for a Liverpool drop-off! 

"Managers are always cyclical. Manchester United went through several years of underperformance when Matt Busby left. Ferguson arrived in 1986, struggled for a few years, and then embarked on his journey. Replacing him has proven to be difficult. Manchester City weren't a global force before Pep Guardiola arrived, and you'd expect them to fall away once he leaves. Arsenal suffered the same fate after Arsene Wenger left. It's incredibly difficult to replace a front-facing leader. We've also seen it in other sports. Sir David Brailsford left Team Sky for a more senior role at INEOS, and that resulted in Team Sky's potential going down in cycling. There are heaps of examples."