Klopp was appointed in October 2015 and his contract was due to run until 2026.
He won the Champions League in 2019 before leading Liverpool to their first league title in 30 years in 2019-20.
"I told the club already in November," said 56-year-old Klopp, who has announced his decision with his side top of the Premier League.
"I can understand that it's a shock for a lot of people in this moment, when you hear it for the first time, but obviously I can explain it - or at least try to explain it.
"I love absolutely everything about this club, I love everything about the city, I love everything about our supporters, I love the team, I love the staff. I love everything. But that I still take this decision shows you that I am convinced it is the one I have to take.
Jürgen Klopp announced that he was leaving Liverpool earlier today in a surprise statement. He confirmed that he is fine but needs a break after so long in charge.
Klopp said: "I can understand that it's a shock for a lot of people in this moment, when you hear it for the first time, but obviously I can explain it - or at least try to explain it.
"I love absolutely everything about this club, I love everything about the city, I love everything about our supporters, I love the team, I love the staff. I love everything. But that I still take this decision shows you that I am convinced it is the one I have to take."
Assistant manager Pep Lijnders will also leave the club, along with the rest of Klopp's coaching team, in a complete staff overhaul this summer.
A sudden announcement came amid a second quest for a quadruple in three seasons: Klopp will go with proof his powers remain intact, with Liverpool’s resurgence this season an illustration that he was building a second fine team, potentially a second brilliant one. He will leave with Liverpool wanting more: perhaps that would always have been the case.
Klopp's status as a legend of the game is already secure if he decided to call time on his career. At 56-years-old, he has been involved in management almost non-stop since taking the reins at Mainz in 2001.
His comments in his Liverpool exit statement also allude to him leaving the intensity of management for good. "It is that I am, how can I say it, running out of energy. I have no problem now, obviously, I knew it already for longer that I will have to announce it at one point, but I am absolutely fine now. I know that I cannot do the job again and again and again and again."
However, a break away from the game might give him different ideas...
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