Soccer

Jürgen Klopp returning to football as Red Bull’s ‘head of global soccer’

Former Liverpool manager to begin role overseeing worldwide network of clubs in January

Jürgen Klopp has beenappointed as the new head of global soccer at Red Bull. Photograph: Zac Goodwin/PA Wire
Jürgen Klopp has beenappointed as the new head of global soccer at Red Bull. Photograph: Zac Goodwin/PA Wire
John Brewin
Wed Oct 09 2024 - 13:50

Former Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp is back in the game after being appointed as the new head of global soccer at Red Bull.

“After almost 25 years on the sideline, I could not be more excited to get involved in a project like this,” said Klopp, who begins the role on January 1st, 2025. “The role may have changed but my passion for football and the people who make the game what it is has not.”

Reports in Germany suggest his deal with the multi-club organisation, funded by the drinks manufacturer, has a get-out clause that allows him to apply for the German national team job once Julian Nagelsmann steps down. Nagelsmann penned an extension to his deal before Euro 2024 and is expected to lead the team to the 2026 World Cup.

Klopp departed Liverpool at the end of the 2023-24 season, after almost eight years on Merseyside. He has remained a visible presence on social media, and was seen at the Paris Paralympics, supporting his close friend Wojtek Czyz, a badminton player from New Zealand.

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At Red Bull, he will be fulfilling what appears a similar function to that Michael Edwards, who worked alongside Klopp at Liverpool as sporting director, now fulfils. Liverpool’s FSG owners have set on a pathway to multi-club ownership.

“He will not be involved in day-to-day operations but will oversee a group of clubs that bring the kind of intensity that became his own calling card as a coach,” read a Red Bull statement.

In July 2022, after a friendly between Liverpool and RB Salzburg, Klopp praised the organisation, saying: “What Red Bull is doing is a really interesting project, I have to say ... They kind of change every year, they sell players but still a good team. It’s really interesting what they are doing. The football philosophy is not too far away from ours as well.”

The Red Bull sporting organisation includes RB Leipzig in the Bundesliga, New York Red Bulls in MLS, and its interests include a minority share in and shirt sponsorship for Leeds United, as well as many other ventures in sport, including their seven-time world championship-winning Formula One team.

One of the founders of the Red Bull philosophy is Ralf Rangnick, who later became Manchester United manager, with whom Klopp shared a high-pressing approach. The current Austria coach, who became Red Bull head of sport and development after being sporting director at both Salzburg and Leipzig, is a confidante and occasional mentor to Klopp.

After spending seven years at Mainz, another seven at Borussia Dortmund and then the full-throttle spell at Liverpool that brought a Champions League and a Premier League title to Anfield among other trophies, Klopp stated this will be a change in pace for his career: “I see my role primarily as a mentor for the coaches and management of the Red Bull clubs but ultimately I am one part of an organisation that is unique, innovative and forward looking.”

Red Bull’s statement added: “He will not be involved in the clubs’ day-to-day operations, but will provide strategic vision, supporting individual sporting directors in advancing the Red Bull philosophy.”

Salzburg’s current head coach is Pepijn Ljinders, the Dutchman who was Klopp’s assistant from 2018 to 2024. Their season has begun disappointingly, with two heavy defeats in the Champions League group stage, and a 5-0 beating from Sturm Graz at the weekend. Leipzig, coached by another former Dortmund coach in Marco Rose, are second place in this season’s Bundesliga. The New York branch is coached by Sandro Schwarz, another German. – Guardian