Jurgen Klopp had an emotional end to his Liverpool career after the 2-0 win over Wolves. The entire Anfield crowd and his players gave him a grand farewell on his final day.
The German manager will now be taking an indefinite sabbatical from football and focus on his family life. Klopp has also refused to reveal when he might be back in management, with his foreseeable future all about spending some quality ‘me-time’ and giving priority to his loved ones.
Well, it seems that Klopp entered into vacation mode even before his final game as Liverpool manager. That is because right before the game against Wolves, Klopp was pictured enjoying some time to himself outside the Titanic Hotel at Liverpool.
This is a popular spot in the city which overlooks the historic Liverpool dock and some fans were lucky to bump into the gaffer there.
Some photographers also managed to snap pictures of Klopp seemingly having something in his mouth. While not totally visible, but some started to claim that he might’ve been enjoying a little marijuana joint by himself to ‘calm his nerves’ before the big game.
The thing which Klopp has clasped between his lips is a little white cigarette-like element, giving the illusion that it might be a joint.
A lot of fans automatically started praising Klopp for being so ‘cool and modern’ in having a little joint before his final game in charge. However, on a closer look, that thing that Klopp has in his mouth does not exactly look like a joint at all. For one, it’s way too narrow for one and there is no smoke coming out of it at all.
On a closer look, it appears that Klopp was not smoking anything but chewing on a nicotine inhaler during his time alone. A nicotine inhaler is often used by many smoking addicts and helps one get rid of their smoking addiction.
Basically, inhaling the elements in the nicotine inhaler allows one to slowly eradicate their addiction or at least bring down their need to have a cigarette at regular intervals. The device basically mirrors an act of smoking without actually inhaling any dangerous smoke into one’s lungs. Slowly, the nicotine substance also lowers one craving for the nicotine substance in a cigarette and give up chain smoking.
Klopp has admitted in the past that he has a bit of a smoking problem. He was quite open about his issue during his time at Borussia Dortmund and once even claimed after Dortmund beat Malaga in the 2012/13 Champions League quarter-final: “I am a smoker – I have already lost way more years of my life. But a game like this one is worth losing a year of life for.”
Later on, he also admitted: “I smoke more than I should, but less than I could. The players know that I smoke of course, this is unavoidable. I don’t stand in front of them and light up. If you put a celebratory cigar in a player’s mouth nowadays, he doesn’t know how to handle it – suck or blow?”
Klopp had even been seen smoking a cigarette in public during his initial years as Liverpool manager too. But it appears that he’s failed to totally give up the habit of smoking, which is why he’s using the nicotine inhaler to help him get rid of this issue.
Ironically, the 56-year-old can now do whatever he wants as he no longer has the pressures of the Liverpool job. But Klopp unlikely to just let himself go and live a reckless, unhealthy life – with the use of this nicotine element perhaps being a sign of him giving up his vices and living a healthier life going forward.
