Jurgen Klopp has been dealt a blow in his role as Red Bull’s Head of Global Soccer with the news that he is unlikely to get the man he apparently wants to take over as RB Leipzig boss.
Leipzig is looking for a new manager after sacking Marco Rose following a defeat by Borussia Monchengladbach last weekend which left the team in sixth position in the Bundesliga.
Klopp reportedly admires Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner and views him as a possible replacement for Rose, but talkSPORT says that Palace is hopeful of tying Glasner to a new contract at Selhurst Park which would end Leipzig’s chances of luring him to Germany.
Glasner previously managed Bundesliga clubs Wolfsburg and Eintracht Frankfurt, while he also has ties to the Red Bull football group having been an assistant to Roger Schmidt at Austrian club Red Ball Salzburg during the 2012-13 and 2013-14 seasons.
Glasner won the only major honor of his managerial career during his spell as Frankfurt boss, guiding the club to Europa League glory in 2022, beating Rangers on penalties in the final.
The 50-year-old was appointed Palace manager in February 2024 and has impressed since moving to the Premier League, guiding the club to victory in 24 of his 49 matches in charge, including 10 wins and a draw in the London club’s last 13 games.
(Image: 2025 Crystal Pix/MB Media)
Klopp previously praised Glasner ahead of a game between Liverpool and Palace last April — one which Palace ended up winning to seriously dent Liverpool’s title chances: “Oliver is someone whose work I know pretty well as he is a manager who did a really good job in the Bundesliga with Wolfsburg and Eintracht Frankfurt before moving to Palace earlier this year,” Klopp wrote in his program notes.
“Replacing a club legend like Roy Hodgson would not be easy for anyone but Oliver’s record, reputation and ability make him a wise choice, I would say. I do not know how well known he was in England before he came to the Premier League, but his CV speaks for itself and it is even decorated with a Europa League, which was won a couple of seasons back with Frankfurt. Oliver has not been in this country for too long but already you can see his methods and his work starting to show at Palace.”
Ahead of Liverpool’s meeting with Palace at Selhurst Park earlier this season, Glasner joked: “I think I’m one of the few managers who has a positive balance against Jürgen Klopp, because I just played once against him, and we had the win!”
