Jurgen Klopp has been criticised by his former player Kevin Grosskreutz for joining Red Bull’s multi-club organisation.
The former Liverpool manager will take up the new position of Global Head of Soccer at Red Bull in January, having stepped down from his role at Anfield in the summer.
Red Bull owns German team RB Leipzig and Austrian side Red Bull Salzburg - who both compete in the Champions League - as well as MLS club New York Red Bulls and Brazilian outfit Red Bull Bragantino.
The Red Bull model has been fiercely criticised by German football fans, with Borrusia Dortmund particularly critical of Leipzig’s rise under the Austrian energy drinks company.
And Grosskreutz - who won the Bundesliga twice at Dortmund while Klopp was in charge - has blasted his former manager’s move.
“I woke up, I had 30 messages on my phone and I thought: ‘What happened?’ I thought I was dreaming, then I hoped it was fake news,” Grobkreutz said on his podcast Viertelstunde Fussball.
“Two hours later it was official. It was pretty shocking and sad. Somehow it hasn’t really sunk in yet.
“I don’t think anyone was expecting it. It’s very, very strange and I can’t really comprehend it yet. It’s like shock! Nevertheless, he’s a friend of mine and I owe him a lot. And I will always be grateful to him.
“As a football fan, I think it sucks, to put it bluntly! But as a friend, you have to accept decisions being made. When we meet, I’ll still tell him personally that I think it’s s*** that he does something like that!”
Klopp’s new role will see him advise all Red Bulls teams on a range of issues including philosophy and transfers.
The 57-year-old reportedly has an exit clause in his contract allowing him to take charge of the German national team in the future.
But for now Klopp is focused on his new career in football away from coaching.
In a video message on Instagram he said: “A few months ago I said I don’t see myself on the sidelines any more and that’s still the case, but I still love football and still love working and Red Bull gives me the perfect platform for that.
“I want to share my experience which I collected over the years and we all know there are much more successful managers out there.
“In my career I’ve fought for promotion, I’ve fought against relegation, I’ve fought for titles and I’ve fought for trophies.
“Sometimes we failed, sometimes we succeeded and dealing with that is not easy, but it is possible.
“Then I want to learn again because when you are in the job and have to play every three days you barely have time for that.
“Now I have time and I have the opportunity and I want to see, feel and figure out what is useful for football. So developing football a little bit as well.”
