• Borussia Dortmund confirm manager’s exit at press conference • Other clubs have already been in touch, Klopp’s representatives say • Thomas Tuchel is a possible replacement for Klopp

Borussia Dortmund have announced the departure of their manager, Jürgen Klopp, at the end of the season. The BVB manager has asked the club to be released after enduring a difficult season and Dortmund called a press conference at 1.30pm (12.30pm BST) on Wednesday, where chief executive Hans-Joachim Watzke confirmed that the club had agreed to release him early from his contract.

“I am not tired. I may look tired but I am not. I am 0.0% tired. I haven’t had any contact with any other clubs but am not planning a sabbatical,” said Klopp, who faced the media, along with Watzke and the club’s sporting director Michael Zorc. “I have always said that the day I feel that I am no longer the perfect coach for this extraordinary club I will say that. That is something I have thought about in every phase here at Dortmund and decided in the last few weeks, days, that I was no longer able to be absolutely sure about that. And then, because of the unusual relationship I have with this club, the trust we have for each other, it was my duty to tell the club.”

Jürgen Klopp: ‘I‘m not taking a sabbatical. I was no longer the perfect coach for Dortmund’ Read more

Zorc thanked Klopp for all he had achieved in his seven years at the club, saying: “We have written football history with you, Jürgen. You have given the club much energy and optimism.”

Representatives of the 47-year-old have already received several inquiries for his services since the news of his departure broke on Wednesday morning but they have not entered any formal contract negotiations. Klopp is expected to take the next few weeks to weigh up his options carefully . Unlike Pep Guardiola and Thomas Tuchel, however, he is unlikely to take a sabbatical from football altogether.

It has been a long and hard season at Dortmund with the team in the bottom half of the table for long periods of the campaign and they were eliminated – and outplayed – by Juventus in the last 16 of the Champions League.

Klopp arrived from Mainz seven years ago and has won the Bundesliga title twice, the German Cup once and reached the Champions League final against Bayern Munich in 2013, a game they lost 2-1.

The German newspaper Bild suggests that Tuchel, who, like Klopp, worked at Mainz, is the frontrunner to take over in the summer. Tuchel was offered the Hamburg job this week but turned it down.

Dortmund are currently 10th in the Bundesliga and there have been signs of Klopp’s frustration in recent months. After a recent home defeat against Bayern Munich – who have signed several Dortmund players in recent years – the manager was dismayed by Sky Germany’s request to interview him in front of the travelling fans.

“I’ve got to say I think that’s a fantastic idea from Sky to interview me here and give those [Bayern] lads every opportunity to do what they want,” he said. “But I guess this is just something else I’ve got to stomach.”