Jurgen Klopp: How he compares to top Premier League managers

It is no longer news that Liverpool's manager, Jurgen Klopp, will leave the club this season after spending nine years in England.

The German arrived at Merseyside when the Reds were in dire need of leadership and clear direction after collapsing under Brendan Rodgers.

Rodgers had emerged as one of the brightest young managers in England, with his Swansea side playing beautiful football and mixing with Premier League big boys. 

He had almost led the Reds to the first Premier League title two seasons prior to Klopp's arrival, but by the time Liverpool sacked him, the club was languishing in mid-table with no sign of making progress.

When Klopp came in 2015, the Liverpool squad was below par despite splashing the cash to sign several players after the windfall from the sale of Luis Suarez to Barcelona. 

The German manager met a divided and pessimistic fanbase with no faith in their team or hopes of ever becoming a force in England.

But gradually, Klopp rebuilt the Anfield ruins, restoring Liverpool to the pinnacle of English and European football by winning the club’s first league title in 30 years, reaching four European finals and winning the Champions League. 

After nine years of Klopp’s magic, Liverpool is a super club again, and the fans have been turned from doubters into believers. 

Because of Klopp and his direct and attacking football, which guarantees entertainment, Liverpool tickets have become among the most sought-after in Europe.

Premier League Influence

Klopp’s genius did not just stop in the red side of Merseyside, though. The Germans' influence has rubbed off on the league. Since its inception, hundreds of top managers have managed in the Premier League. 

Sir Alex Ferguson, Arsene Wenger, Kenny Dalglish, Jose Mourinho, Carlo Ancelotti, Pep Guardiola, Roberto Mancini, Antonio Conte, Manuel Pellegrini, and Claudio Ranieri are all title winners at their clubs, while the likes of David Moyes, Sam Allardyce, Roy Hodgson, Mark Hughes, and Jamie Redknapp are among the managers that have managed the most games in the Premier League. 

However, not many of these managers have had the impact Klopp has had in the Premier League. The departing Liverpool boss is a bonafide legend of the league.

But what is Jurgen Klopp’s Premier League legacy? How does he compare with other legendary Premier League managers? Where does statistics place him among the Premier League elites?

In this article, we crunch the numbers to see how the German ranks among Premier League greats. We have narrowed our comparison to managers who have won at least one Premier League title and managed over 300 PL games. 

As such, the comparison pits Klopp against Pep Guardiola, Alex Ferguson, Jose Mourinho, and Arsene Wenger.

Highest points total in a season

The first thing we consider is the highest points total these managers ever had in a season. 

Of all the managers we are comparing, Wenger spent the longest time in the Premier League era, with the 22 years he managed Arsenal the most anyone has managed.

In those 22 seasons, the Frenchman's highest points tally was 90 points, which came in his last title-winning season—the 2003/04 season. That was also the only time Wenger crossed the 90-point mark in his 22 years at the club.

Meanwhile, in 21 years in the Premier League, former Manchester United manager, Sir Alex Ferguson crossed the 90-point mark barrier in three seasons, doing so in the 1993/94 season (92), 1999/00 season (91) and 2008/09 season (90). His highest-ever points total was 92 points in the 1992/94 season.

Jose Mourinho scored 90+ points in his first two seasons at the club, but his highest point total came in the 2004/05 season when his Chelsea side recorded 95 points.

Finally, Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has hit 90+ points in three seasons so far, with his 100-point haul in the 2017/18 season, which is the most points anyone has won in a season.

However, despite spending less time than Sir Alex Ferguson, Wenger, and Jose Mourinho in the Premier League, Klopp crossed the 90-point mark in three seasons at the club–the 2018/19, 2019/20, and 2021/22 seasons. The highest he reached came in Liverpool's title-winning 2019/20 season, when his side hit 99 points to record their first Premier League title.

Therefore, only Pep Guardiola has finished a season with higher points than Klopp in the Premier League era. 

On average, he hits the 90-point mark one out of every three seasons at the club. In contrast, Wenger does it once every 14 seasons, while Ferguson achieves it once every seven seasons.

Average Points Per Game

According to Transfermarket, only two out of the five title-winning coaches who have managed more than 300 Premier League games have a higher points-per-game average than Klopp. As per the stat, only Pep Guardiola (2.35 points) and Alex Ferguson (2.16 points) have a higher points-per-game average than Klopp, who has managed 2.11 points per game during his time at Liverpool.

Mourinho averaged 2.02 points per game in his managerial stint across three clubs, while Wenger averaged 1.96 points per game in 22 years at Arsenal.

This suggests that if one considers a table ranking these managers in order of points won, Klopp will sit third, just behind the legendary Sir Alex Ferguson.

Win Percentage

The next measure we consider is the win percentage of these top five managers.

The lowest-ranked manager on the list is Wenger, who won just 58% of his total PL games. He is followed by Jose Mourinho, who has a win percentage of 60%.

Jürgen Klopp is third on this list, with the German winning 63% of his total league games. Again, Sir Alex Ferguson, with a 65% win rate, and Pep Guardiola, with a 74% win percentage, are the only managers ahead of Klopp in this metric.

Trophies

If one were to judge these managers by the trophies they have won, Klopp would finish last as he is the only one of the five managers with just one PL title–the rest won at least three league titles.

However, judging Klopp's Premier League legacy based only on trophies won, would be both unfair and ignorant. The former Borussia Dortmund coach led Liverpool to their first Premier League title, but his legacy goes beyond having his team’s name written on a big, shiny metal cup.

With him, we discover more acutely that the margins are paper thin at the elite level. Liverpool fell on the wrong side of the line multiple times during the Germans' tenure.

Apart from the title triumph in 2020, he came close to winning the title on at least two other occasions but failed at the last hurdle and with the slightest of margins.

For example, Liverpool’s tally of 97 points in 2018-19 is the most by any team not to win an English top-flight title — and a higher total than 25 of the 28 title-winning campaigns across the 38-game Premier League era. Before that season, no team had accrued 90-plus points in a season without winning the title. 

In the past five seasons, Liverpool have the unwanted record of doing that twice — with their 92-point haul in 2021-22 more than 22 of the 28 Premier League title-winning seasons, despite finishing second.

The German manager built a machine that was a picture of consistency, but unfortunately, he has only one title to show for it.

More Klopp Records

No side in England’s first division has won more games in a single season than Liverpool’s 32 during that 2019-20 season, matching Man City of 2017/18 and 2018/19.

His Liverpool team became the first English top-flight side to take 110 points from 38 league games between the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons. He still holds the club record for the longest unbeaten run in league games–44 in total between January 2019 and February 2020.

Most consecutive PL wins - 18 - Liverpool (27 Oct 2019-24 Feb 2020), matching Man City (26 Aug-27 Dec 2017).

Most PL home wins in a season - 18 - Liverpool (2019/20), matching Chelsea (2005/06), Manchester United (2010/11) and Man City (2011/12 & 2018/19).

Most consecutive PL home wins - 24 - 9 Feb 2019-11 Jul 2020.

Biggest PL home win - 9-0 v AFC Bournemouth (27 Aug 2022), matching Man Utd 9-0 Ipswich Town (4 Mar 1995) and Man Utd 9-0 Southampton (2 Feb 2021).

Comeback kings: Since Klopp's first match in charge in October 2015, Liverpool have won 148 points from losing positions, more than any other side across Europe's big-five leagues.

Rank

After crunching the numbers, it is safe to say that only Pep Guardiola and Sir Alex Ferguson can comfortably claim a bigger Premier League legacy than Jürgen Klopp.

Guardiola is undoubtedly a brilliant man, but his City team is backed by an oil-rich state that can spend its way out of any trouble. So, one can argue that if the tables had been turned and Klopp had been in Pep Guardiola's shoes, he would have enjoyed more PL prominence.

Sir Alex Ferguson was also a top coach, but despite enjoying so much longevity at the top, his average points haul is not too far from Klopp's.