Jurgen Klopp reveals what he has been up to since his Liverpool exit

Jurgen Klopp has revealed what he has been up to since his emotional exit as Liverpool manager last Sunday and it turns out he has been hitting the courts.

Liverpool fan bid an emotional farewell to Klopp after a final home win against Wolves, with Dutch coach Arne Slot named as the new Liverpool manager on Monday.

There has been plenty of speculation over what comes next for Klopp and it seems the sport of padel will be one of his big priorities now that he has taken a step away from football.

A mix between tennis and squash, padel is a fast-paced racket sport, with the court surrounded by a glass wall that has inspired suggestions it is a cross between tennis and squash.

Klopp is a big fans and had a padel court installed at Liverpool’s training ground, where he played with his coaching staff and players.

Some of the images used by Liverpool as part of Klopp’s farewell videos included images of their German manager playing padel and now he has confirmed he has taken to the courts as he has more time on his hands.

“Now what I’m doing, I try – no, no, I follow – my other big passion. I try to improve my padel game,” said Klopp in an Instagram post.

“Started two days ago, today’s my third session and I started on an extremely low level. Didn’t play for a while and felt it immediately but step by step I will get there.”

Klopp has his own range of padel bats with Wilson sport and is clearly a big fan of a sport that has developed a big following in the UK in recent years after firmly establishing its European roots in Spain.

READ MORE: Is padel a threat to tennis? Former British No 1 gives us his verdict

Tennis365.com spoke to former British No 1 Andrew Castle about padel, as he suggested the sport that has comparisons to tennis could boos participation numbers in both sports.

“I don’t see how padel can be viewed as a threat to tennis in any way,” Castle told Tennis365 at a Game4Padel event in London.

“They both have their own merits and should not be viewed as rivals in any way.

“I remember being asked about the comparisons between squash and tennis years ago and once again, those two sports work together in a complimentary way.

“If we are looking to drive membership to tennis clubs and they can do that by offering padel as part of their package, then it can be good for both sports.

“We want to get more people coming through the door and part of the driver for that is padel, I don’t see that as a negative in any way.

“Padel is just good fun and people who like tennis will still want to play that sport. They might also want to play padel as well.

“If you are a racket club and you are not offering padel moving forward, then I think you will get left behind. It is an offering clubs have got to have.”

Castle went on to suggest padel’s accessibility to all levels of players will help to build its growth in the coming years.

“It is easier to get reasonably good at padel quite quickly,” he added. “Not to the level the top players operate at, but on a social level with your friends.

“You can enjoy a foursome in padel and have a rally pretty much straight away. In tennis, it is a little more difficult to do that as it is a harder sport to master.

“Good luck to those making the decisions over what comes next for padel in the UK, but I look at what Game4Padel are doing installing so many courts and it is clear that there is real momentum behind this.

“I’m not too worried about the elite end of padel as I see this as a game that you can enjoy with your friends and have a couple of beers afterward.

“If I play a game of this, I feel like I have been through the spinner as it is fantastic exercise and most importantly, it is great fun.”

Klopp also used his social media post to thank Liverpool fans for the special send off they gave him as he added: “Five days ago was the, wow, the big goodbye and I still try to process everything what happened that day and in the days around,” the 56-year-old added.

“So, slightly settled now but I’m actually not sure if I said it clear enough, thank you. Thank you for everything, thank you for the love, thank you for the support.

“Yeah, it was a wonderful day and the best experience I could have ever imagined really, outstanding.”