The former Liverpool and Dortmund manager Jürgen Klopp is back in the game after being appointed 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 starts the job on 1 January. “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 multiclub organisation, funded by the drinks manufacturer, includes a clause that would allow him to apply for the German national team job if Julian Nagelsmann steps down. Nagelsmann signed an extension to his contract before Euro 2024 and is expected to lead the team to the 2026 World Cup.
Klopp departed Liverpool at the end of last season after almost eight years on Merseyside. He has remained a visible presence on social media, and was seen at the Paris Paralympic Games supporting his close friend Wojtek Czyz, a New Zealand badminton player.
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At Red Bull he will perform what appears to be a similar role to that of Liverpool’s Michael Edwards, who worked alongside Klopp at Anfield as sporting director. Liverpool’s owner, Fenway Sports Group, is set on a path to multiclub ownership.
Klopp’s appointment is due to be made official at a press conference in mid-January 2025, but his start date is New Year’s Day. A Red Bull statement said: “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.”
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.”
Red Bull’s sporting organisation includes RB Leipzig in the Bundesliga, New York Red Bulls in Major League Soccer, and its interests include a minority share in and shirt sponsorship of Leeds United, as well as many other sport ventures. The Formula One team have won the drivers’ title seven times and the constructors’ championship six times.
One of the founders of the Red Bull philosophy is Ralf Rangnick, who later became Manchester United manager, with whom Klopp shares a high‑pressing tactical approach. The Austria coach, who became Red Bull head of sport and development after being sporting director at both Salzburg and Leipzig, is a confidant and occasional mentor to Klopp.
After spending seven years at Mainz, 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 sees this as 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,” he said. “But ultimately I am one part of an organisation that is unique, innovative and forward looking.”
Red Bull’s statement added: “He will provide strategic vision, supporting individual sporting directors in advancing the Red Bull philosophy.”
Salzburg’s head coach is Pepijn Lijnders, the Dutchman who was Klopp’s assistant from 2018 to 2024. In a disappointing start to their season they have endured 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 the Bundesliga. The New York branch is coached by Sandro Schwarz, another German.
