Former Liverpool bossJurgen Klopp had a unique clause in his contract with the Reds that ensured the club would help him oversee his exit. Klopp left Liverpool in the summer of 2024, after initially announcinghis departure in January of that year, following nine successful years at Anfield.

Klopp joined Liverpool in October 2015 but then put pen to paper on a new deal in December 2019. In his contract extension,a clause was inserted which would see the club help the German move back to his home country once his time at Anfield had come to an end.

Essentially, the clause ensured Klopp's move to Germany would be overseen by Liverpool to verify it was a smooth transition. However, it is unlikely the benefit has been attached to Arne Slot's contract.

Slot signed a three-year deal when he joined the club in 2024. There was an expectation that the Dutchman would clinch a lucrative extension after leading Liverpool to the Premier League titlein his first season, and perhaps such a clause would have been inserted then.

However, the Reds' stuttering title defence has not only seen any talk of Slot's extension put on hold but even cast doubt over the Dutchman's Liverpool future.

• Arsenal can prove Liverpool star wrong and put Man City to bed along with bottlers label

• Wild Antoine Semenyo to Liverpool claim live on Sky over Man City hijack – 'I've heard tonight'

Klopp told SWR Sport in July 2020 that he had plans to move back to Germany when he left Liverpool, comments that followed his 2019 contract where the clause was reportedly included. His remarks came to fruition as Klopp took up a job as Red Bull's head of global soccer after leaving Anfield.

"Definitely to live, after my career. Most likely even to Mainz," Klopp said of his plans for leaving Liverpool. Klopp's rare contract clause is not entirely unheard of as clubs can often help managers or players settle into their new surroundings upon signing.

Assisting a manager's exit is a little unusual, but shows the bond and respect shared between Klopp and Liverpool. Such is that bond between Liverpool, as a city and as a club, with the iconic German that talk of Klopp making a sensational return at the expense of Slot has rumbled on during the latter's current struggles.

Klopp himself has already addressed talk over a move back to Liverpool. He suggested that he would never manage another team in England but did not totally rule out a return to Anfield.

"I said I will never coach another team, a different team, in England," he said on The Diary of a CEO podcast. "So that means if then it's Liverpool...yeah. Theoretically, it's possible."

Meanwhile Slot, when asked for an update on his own contract situation in October last year, remained evasive. "This is the last question that I was expecting," he said.

"My focus is completely on getting Liverpool back to winning ways. That is my first answer and my second answer, contract talks, if they are even there, we never speak about this here."

Despite talk of Klopp coming back to Liverpool in their time of need, any move would be dependent on the German being released from his current role. Oliver Mintzlaff, managing director of Red Bull, suggested that Klopp remains happy in his current job.

“Jurgen Klopp feels completely at home with us and has already learned a tremendous amount here,” he told German outlet Welt. “There's no release clause in his contract, and he's clearly committed to us.

“He has no intention of looking for anything else. If something were to come along, we'd have to deal with it. But there are absolutely no indications of that."