Jurgen Klopp Confirms Decision to Leave Borussia Dortmund

Borussia Dortmund manager Jurgen Klopp will leave the Bundesliga club in the summer after both parties agreed to terminate his contract.

The 47-year-old previously had a deal with Dortmund that ran until 2018. Klopp extended his contract in 2013 after arriving at the Westfalenstadion in 2008, per the Press Association (h/t The Guardian).

But his imminent departure was confirmed by the club on Wednesday, per the Bundesliga:

Belgian journalist Kristoff Terreur had previously passed on a report from German newspaper Bild indicating such a move:

Bundesliga Spotlight relayed Bild's suggestion that Dortmund will go after 41-year-old Thomas Tuchel as a replacement: 

Klopp has had great success at Dortmund during his tenure, winning Bundesliga titles in 2011 and 2012 and leading his side to the Champions League final in 2013, where they lost to Bayern Munich.

However, the 2014-15 term has been something of a disaster for Klopp and his team. Dortmund looked like potential relegation candidates until recently, and although they have managed to turn things around somewhat, they still sit a lowly 10th.  

Champions League qualification for next season is now an impossibility, per football writer Ouriel Daskal, as they sit 18 points back from fourth-placed Bayer Leverkusen with six games to play:

"

Official: Dortmund won't play Champions League football next season

— Ouriel Daskal (@Soccerissue) April 11, 2015"

They were dumped out of this year's Champions League by Juventus at the last-16 stage, losing 5-1 on aggregate, including a 3-0 home thrashing in the second leg.

Despite his recent travails, Klopp is still widely regarded as one of Europe's top managers, and he will likely have plenty of job offers on departure, per beIN Sports' Tancredi Palmeri:

As B/R UK indicates, Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini is currently under pressure in his job after a poor run of results, and the Sky Blues hierarchy will surely be interested in Klopp's decision:

However, Klopp confirmed that he does not have any new contract lined up elsewhere as yet, per Eurosport:

Klopp's summer departure could also see a player exodus from Dortmund, with club captain Mats Hummels surely set to depart now his manager has left.

Dortmund Technical Director Hans-Joachim Watzke recently expressed his confidence that Klopp would remain at the club, at least in the short term, per Bild (h/t Ben Jefferson in the Daily Express). 

"For me the situation is quite clear," Watzke said. "Klopp will again be our coach next year."

It seems such confidence was misplaced. Despite their struggles this term, Klopp always looked to be the man to return Dortmund to the top of German football.

It seems now that the likes of City or Paris Saint-Germain could be the beneficiaries of Klopp's considerable talent in the near future.