Michael Edwards will leave Liverpool at the end of the season, the Premier League superpower reported via official channels. The sporting director is not extending his expiring contract at Anfield and is therefore leaving the club after almost ten years of service. With that, Liverpool will lose the man who is largely responsible for assembling Jurgen Klopp’s current success formation.
“Ten years, that’s quite a long time in a person’s working life,” Edwards responds in an open letter to his departure. “In football terms it is an era in itself, especially at a club like Liverpool where expectations and standards are never more than as high as the supporters deserve. It has been a privilege to be part of this club during this period, thanks to the people I’ve had the pleasure to work with and the success we’ve had but all good things come to an end and in my case I recently completed my last summer transfer window as Liverpool sporting director Even writing those words seems a bit unreal , but at the end of this season I will pack my laptop and leave my office for the last time.”
Liverpool took over Edwards from Tottenham Hotspur in November 2011, initially appointing the Englishman as head of performance and analysis. As of 2015, Edwards is responsible for Liverpool’s purchasing policy. Bringing in Mohamed Salah, Fabinho and Andy Robertson, among others, is largely due to Edwards. He is also known as a good negotiator when it comes to sales.
Through his work, Edwards helped build the Liverpool roster that has won the Premier League (2020), Champions League (2019), European Super Cup (2019) and Club World Cup (2019) in recent years. Edwards also played an important part in the contract extension for Klopp, who tied himself to Liverpool two years ago until mid-2024.
Liverpool made several attempts to keep Edwards in recent times, but were unsuccessful. The director will spend the rest of the season guiding his assistant Julian Ward to his successor. Edwards has been linked in the English and German media with a move to Newcastle United and RB Leipzig. The latter club has denied those rumors through general manager Oliver Mintzlaff. “Michael Edwards will not be our director,” Mintzlaff told DAZN.
Related
More sports news