Jurgen Klopp’s former assistant manager Zeljko Buvac has officially left Liverpool, the Premier League club have confirmed.
Buvac had worked alongside Klopp since 2001 but suddenly stepped down from his position with the Reds last April, due to ‘personal reasons’.
He has remained an employee of the Anfield club since then, but has now reached an agreement with Liverpool to officially depart.
Pep Lijnders has been confirmed as Buvac’s replacement, having been working for Liverpool in an unspecified role since last summer.
The Dutch coach was unable to appointed Klopp’s assistant on paper reportedly due to issues with Buvac’s contract.
Nicknamed ‘The Brains‘, Buvac has established himself as one of the most highly-regarded coaches in world football, and Klopp himself credited the Bosnian-Serb with helping him introduce his high-pressing game to both Borussia Dortmund and Liverpool.
The pair spent seven years working together at Mainz (2001-08), before joining Dortmund for another seven years (2008-15). At the end of 2014/15 Klopp and Buvac left Dortmund, going on to join Liverpool in October 2015.