Former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has been linked with a sensational return to club management less than a year after departing Liverpool.
Klopp managed Mainz, Borussia Dortmund and Liverpool in a stellar management career that encompassed 23 years, before he left Anfield at the end of the 2023/24 campaign. The German then took up a job as Red Bull’s head of global soccer, a position he began in January.
Klopp oversees Red Bull’s cartel of clubs which includes RB Leipzig, Red Bull Salzburg and New York Red Bulls. He expressed his excitement at stepping into a new venture, despite the criticism that arose within the game given his previous comments in relation to mutli-club ownership groups.
But he could be offered a way back into club management, with TBR Football stating that Real Madrid is considering an approach for the former Liverpool boss if Carlo Ancelloti steps away from his role this summer.
The report adds that Klopp is also being considered for that Brazil role, along with the USA national role. But it’s Madrid that would prove attractive for most in the game, even if ex-Red Xabi Alonso is reportedly another name being considered.
On Klopp, TBR Football claims his experience of coaching a mixture of superstars, established names and young prospect makes the German an even more attractive option.
However, an immediate return for Klopp to management seems unlikely less than three months into his current role. In fact, he referenced a fatigue that had crept in during his final years at Liverpool as the reason he resigned from his post last year and opted to move into a backroom role at Red Bull.
(Image: Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images)
“I always said I loved what I do but the moment when I felt I couldn’t do the job anymore that was it. It was the same at Mainz, Dortmund and Liverpool. I am brutally honest with myself,” the 57-year-old said in January as he was unveiled in his new role.
“It was not only energy. After more than 1,000 games on the sideline, thousands of press conferences I didn’t want to do it anymore. I didn’t want to stop working either, I just wanted to do something different and a new start, and this opportunity gives that. Game after game, you keep a specific level and I wasn’t completely happy with that. I wanted to learn new things and when I heard about this role, I knew I would do that.”
While Klopp was clear he would not take charge managing any of the Red Bull sides, he has not specifically ruled out a return to the dugout one day.
“That is a clear commitment. But I can’t say I will never be a coach again in my life. I am probably the only person in this room who will be asked where are you in five years, I don’t have a clue. But I will not be a replacement for one of the Red Bull coaches. I hope we can create a structure where these questions will not come up at all.”
