NewsEmotions, fans and favourite moments: The best bits from Jürgen Klopp's final pre-match press conference

The boss met with the media at the AXA Training Centre on Friday morning ahead of his side's season finale at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Here's what he had to say...

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On what this week has been like for him and how he's feeling ahead of Sunday…

Yeah, the most intense week of my life definitely. I said so often goodbye this week, to so many people. Great moments already. We don't have to pretend it's a normal week, because it isn't. But on the other side, looking at the game, I said it as well this week already – I'm a very pragmatic person and very often I try to just save myself. This is the last game of the season, yes, and after that is a holiday – that's what I had for the last 24 years. So, business as usual… knowing that everything around the game and during the game will be completely different.

Yesterday the players said goodbye in their way, we had a little barbeque here that was really nice. [On Tuesday] I was with the staff of Chapel Street, which was really, really nice. Something in the stadium after that, another goodbye celebration. It's a lot. I had very emotional moments of course in between. It's a lot to do as well. I'm not sure, I don't know exactly how many shirts I signed last week but there were a few, let me say it like that! I'm not sure if everyone now has one! But it's all part of the thing. Saying goodbye I don't think is ever nice but saying goodbye without feeling sad or feeling hurt, that would mean that the time you spent together was not right and not great. And we had a great time, so it was always clear it will be tough and I know it will be tough.

On other staff and players leaving the club at the end of the season…

Pep [Lijnders] and Vitor [Matos] have a bright future. I always said they are incredible coaches, fantastic coaches. They were the most influential coaches you can imagine I ever had, because we created a style of play that I really loved together. They are incredibly talented, full of energy. I will follow each step of them. I think it's a great choice for both sides. John Achterberg joins Stevie, good luck with that! Fantastic coach. If you ask the goalies over the years, he coached on one day 12 goalies. I didn't know we had that many at the club but he coached everybody and their dogs, it was unbelievable. Fantastic.

Jack Robinson is leaving as well, fantastic young goalie coach, the future is bright for him. Andreas Kornmayer will leave, the future is bright for him – his CV is Bayern Munich and Liverpool FC in the most successful spells they can have. So that's really cool. Dr Andreas Schlumberger will leave. So many people will leave. But it's normal, actually, they don't leave because I go or whatever. There's a new start and that's fine and if you want to be part of the football business, you need to be ready to move a lot because usually you get the sack after half a year or a year, stuff like this. You go onto the next one, next one and it's always an experience. But we experienced eight-and-a-half years together, which is pretty special and everybody is super-thankful and appreciative of that. They all see it like that. They will be fine and I will follow whatever they will do.

Joel [Matip] and Thiago [Alcantara] were in my office, we spoke a bit longer this week. Have you ever seen a better free transfer than Joel Matip? You will not find a more likeable person than Joel Matip. He is funny in his own way. He is ridiculously funny, to be honest, and a wonderful man with a wonderful family. He has to make a decision, does he want to play on or not? We will see that or read it. But whoever gets him is a lucky club definitely, because he is world-class and super-humble. That together is really rare. Like, super-humble.

The next world-class player is then obviously Thiago. In a parallel world, I would have loved to see the career without injuries. He is, I'm not sure the best, but definitely one of the best I ever saw. He can do things, I'm not sure before that I thought were possible. He is in control of absolutely everything on the pitch. Unfortunately, the body didn't play exactly a part. But he is in a good way, he looked really good yesterday and I'm sure he will want to give it a try again. I told them already thank you for everything they did so I don't think I have to tell you that now. But whoever leaves this club and we worked together in the last few years, they were all brilliant. If they wouldn't have been brilliant they would have left last year, because we don't carry problems with us. I'm really, really thankful for all of them.

On how he wants his team to sign off...

Look, this is a massive challenge now to sit here and pretend... I have no clue how the team meeting will be. I think the documentary guys are in, I'm not sure, probably. They asked me if they can have the last team meeting, which nobody ever had. I said no because I have no idea how that will be, maybe Virg [van Dijk] is doing it because somebody has to do it who is really on fire. Can I be on fire? Probably yes, I think so, but I don't know in the moment. But it will be really strange. And now we talk about the Wolves game, yes, I want us to play top, top football, people come for that, but you need an atmosphere for that. During the game it would be cool if that would be not a goodbye atmosphere but a really football atmosphere, that would be cool.

It's a strong opponent, they played a sensational season, they were the most unlucky team I ever saw with the VAR decisions against Wolves – we had a few strange ones but they are the champions of that, unbelievable. Now recently the results are not exactly maybe what they would expect, especially with the football they played before. But they will be strong, they want to finish on a high, so we have to be strong. We have to prepare as good and as normal as possible. I think I was never the part to disturb the good game but probably in this moment I am the one and I'm really sorry for that, I would love not to be that.

But standing there and pretending that it's a completely normal game, nobody would believe me if I tell that. It's a challenge for different reasons this time and I hope we can just all together put a really good performance on the pitch – I think we would all deserve that and it's much easier to celebrate afterwards if you saw a good game before. I cannot guarantee that now but I will try as hard as I can.

On winning the Carabao Cup back in February...

I said it after the game, this is my favourite final – for the circumstances we played it in, that's how it is. It's not the competition, it's the final, forget what you get afterwards. We all know how people see the Carabao Cup or whatever, but in that moment it felt absolutely outstanding. They could have given us each trophy and we would have taken it and would have been the happiest people on the planet. The game was great, the atmosphere was exceptional. You're right, it showed everything what this club is about because the people created an atmosphere in the stadium which I'm not sure Wembley ever had before. I know now a few guys from other teams will say, 'Yeah, in 1976 it was like that.' But who cares?

Our people can create some special moments, wow, and that night the team created something really special, the club created something really special, the Academy created something really special. It was, from a club point of view, the best night of our lives, because you want to have the kids involved, you want to give the recognition to the Academy and I didn't have to say a word. Usually I have to say, 'And Alex Inglethorpe is doing that and Barry [Lewtas] is doing that and Marc [Bridge-Wilkinson] is doing that.' But that night everybody just had to see where they are coming from and everybody knew that obviously the coaches in the Academy did really well. I loved that to bits. I loved to see the kids' eyes and the elder ones. Virgil, first trophy [as] skipper. It was just a fantastic night. I will never forget that, definitely. It was a good one.

On moments that define the football he wanted his team to play...

I would say the best football we played was Man City this year. In that game, in that period, I don't know the minute anymore, but we never controlled City like we did that day. That is super-difficult, you see where they are now. They are obviously still a really good team but that was the best we played. We won before but they were different games and we played really good and we scored incredible goals against them, I don't know, 40 passes in possession [and] ending up completely free in front of goal. But controlling a game against a team like that, putting them under pressure like that, we never did before, so that is my favourite 60 minutes or so but that's really good. Barcelona, so many things. Best goal, Alisson Becker. Best assist, Trent Alexander-Arnold against Barcelona. Best save, Alisson Becker against Napoli. Best backheel goal, Sadio Mane. We had a few things.

On how he reflects on his time at Liverpool...

I'm absolutely fine. I know we could have won more, but I cannot change that anymore, so I'm absolutely fine. We could've won less, that's possible as well. Not becoming a champion for a point is not a great experience but it's an experience and it shows you that you are really good. That will not be in the history books obviously. It's not and then the nearly wins will not be there, I know that, that's life. But if you are in it, you cannot see it like that. I can. I couldn't have done anything different in these moments.

I think this one season, I don't know which it was now exactly, but when we don't score at City when the ball was pretty much over the line but it was not. In the same season, I think two or three weeks later, I think [Sergio] Aguero scores a goal where it is that much at Burnley over the line. Yeah, sorry, it's now not my fault. I take responsibility for everything but not for that. So, we could've [won more], but it's fine. We could have won more Champions Leagues. Being three times in the Champions League final is an outstanding achievement. Being brave enough and [to] try always again as hard as we did is really brave because there is a good chance that you lose the final. It's just how it is because you face then Real Madrid, they went in the final and so far found always the way to win it, and we tried again and that's how it is.

I said it before, I would not be happy if I would've thought I could have done more. I couldn't. I couldn't have done more. Could I have done better? Me? Not. Could somebody else have done better? Probably, that's possible. But me in that situation, no. And that's why I'm fine with it and the rest will be judged by the people and I'm pretty sure more of them are fine with what we did, and some think it's not enough, and both is absolutely alright if they think like that.

On what he's going to take from the experience...

It's nearly a decade in my life and super-influential in so many ways. I spoke before about how hard it will be to say goodbye. I love absolutely everything about this place, I do. I take memories with me, fantastic memories, I take friendships with me, relationships with me forever. I think you realise the older you get when time slips through your fingers, and you only realise it later on, you look back and think, 'My God, that was quick'. I don't think it was quick, the nine years, it's not that I feel as if I would've arrived yesterday.

I really think it was the absolute opposite of a waste of time. We used absolutely everything and tried to make the best out of everything and tried to enjoy it as much as somehow possible. A decade in your life is a massive one and I will not forget, I would not say a minute, but I will not forget a day in that time because I met the best people I ever met and I did it for the best club I could have imagined. So, that's just how it is. In a wonderful [and] very, very special city. Very special. Nothing is perfect nowadays but the majority of the people in this city are, for me, as close as possible because of the way they are [and] the way they deal with life.

The way they welcome you, the way they treat you and I don't mean me, I mean all the people I know when they arrive in the city. What they tell me describes people in Liverpool. That's wonderful to know. I'm completely in peace. It's wonderful to know that I spent a big time of my life here. I said it before, I got the key of the city, and I know that's probably for a lot of people rather funny, for me it feels like a responsibility. I don't think, I don't imagine that the club will need my help in the future but if the city needs me, I'm there. That's how it is. I want to be helpful in whatever way and we will see how that looks.

On if he can explain his connection with Liverpool fans…

I can't. I try to explain why I like the people so much and why they like me so much, how can I describe that? I don't understand it properly. I know the football manager of Liverpool, before you even step onto the pitch, people like you until you disappoint them. We never really disappointed them. In moments, I think, but in general it was alright! But the club is special and that you realise now, the club means the world to so many people, it's crazy.

I use this opportunity now to apologise, but over the years but now in the last few weeks it was really extreme, I got emails, letters and if I start answering them then I would still be sitting here in 2028. It's just too much and I really apologise that I couldn't react on them. Some of them I read, I didn't read all of them. I couldn't organise tickets for the last game – there were a lot of requests as well! And yesterday I had for LFCTV to read letters [from fans] and I think with one of them I burst into tears. It's just not possible, the stories behind what it meant to the people and what we did over these nine years and how their lives changed in these nine years. I know that football can do that to people and that football can do that to a city, and we did that.

But the thing is now, and some people now might think that now I leave and that's it, gone. But it's not because experiences are there to learn from. The way we felt, the way we bought into it, led to the fact of how happy we were. Then keep doing that for the next generation, for the next team, [where] big parts are still here, for the next manager, and you will feel the same way. The support doesn't depend on people, not at all, it's about the club. It was before me about the club, it will be after me about the club and that's how it should be. But we have very, very special supporters and the last nine years meant the world to them, and I'm happy about that.

On making the club feel like a family…

I had a good relationship at Mainz with the people and for them it was probably the hardest because they saw me for 11 years playing! They knew me really [well]. We created a really special bond at Dortmund as well. I never planned that but I like it a lot and I actually think it's actually what makes football really enjoyable. If the people would not come and watch and support us, football would still be a nice game to play but we would put sticks in the ground and we would play in the park. And because the people love it so much and it means so much to the people, we played in fantastic stadiums, we earned an awful lot of money, [it was] intense but we have a good life. And you have to experience that together.

I never understood why you would [say that], 'You are there, we are here'. We are the ambassadors of our people, we have to fulfil their dreams. We cannot guarantee that but we have to try. We fight extremely hard because they fight extremely hard and that's how I always understood it, and we always did it. And that's why I understand why the people love that time, but I never expected it to happen because you never know how the people will take it. But obviously here these thoughts fitted like a glove to the people's thoughts and that's why it was pretty special.

• Shop LFC Retail's special Jürgen Klopp legacy collection here