Liverpool assistant manager Pepijn Lijnders is to leave the club at the end of the season to manage Austrian side RB Salzburg.
The 41-year-old has been Jurgen Klopp’s assistant manager at Liverpool since June 2018 and will leave alongside the German this summer.
The Dutchman has signed a three-year deal with RB Salzburg to pursue his own career in management.
There was speculation Lijnders may have replaced Klopp as Liverpool manager after he announced in January he would step down from the role after eight and a half years.
Liverpool development coach Vitor Matos will join Lijnders at RB Salzburg as assistant coach after four and a half years on Merseyside.
OFFICIAL: Pepijn Lijnders will take over as our manager next season!
The 41-year-old Dutchman will join us from @LFC on a three year-contract.
Welcome to Salzburg, Pep! ✍️ pic.twitter.com/gdXNitWJg9
— FC Red Bull Salzburg EN (@FCRBS_en) May 15, 2024
Lijnders said he was “very proud” to become the new RB Salzburg head coach.
“This is a real privilege for me. After PSV Eindhoven, FC Porto and Liverpool FC, I am now moving to another exceptional club with a really good structure and a particular focus on youth development,” Lijnders told the club website.
“I want to develop a mentality with the team that places a lot of emphasis on attacking style of play and where passion and hunger for success are the basis of everything.”
Red Bull’s sporting director Bernhard Seonbuchner added he was pleased to bring Lijnders to the club.
“He is a real football expert and has been a huge influence on a very successful time for Liverpool with his qualities in developing players,” Seonbuchner said.
“The discussions with him were a great success, and there was a clear agreement on the way we want to play, what we are about as a club, and where we want to go together.”
Lijnders and Klopp will say their farewells to Liverpool on the final day of the Premier League season this Sunday when the Reds host Wolves at Anfield.
Salzburg currently sit 2nd in the Austrian Bundesliga heading into their final match of the season against LASK on Sunday.
