Jürgen Klopp's wife Ulla has developed a reputation as a generous and avid LFC supporter since arriving in Liverpool seven years ago.
The 48-year-old German "might even love Liverpool more than Jürgen", The Sunday Times reported, and this love is a big factor in why the manager extended his contract with Liverpool FC until 2026. In a Twitter video, Jürgen said: "Ulla wants to stay. As a good husband, what are you going to do when your wife wants to stay? You stay. That's not the only reason, but it's one of the reasons."
Often seen supporting her husband's team from the stands, Ulla was once even spotted on top of a bin cheering on LFC's open-top bus during a victory parade past 750,000 fans in Liverpool after the Reds won the European Cup for a sixth time in 2019. Her love for the team is reciprocated by fans who chant: "I'm so glad Ulla loves Scouse, I'm so glad she's not moving house."
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But who is Ulla Sandrock? She's a social worker and teacher who worked at a German school in Nairobi, Kenya, for three years before meeting Jürgen when she was waitressing at his favourite bar in the western German city of Mainz. She reportedly didn't recognise the man who became famous as a footballer before leading Mainz into the Bundesliga, the top of the German football system. Dubbed the 'First Lady of the Bundesliga', Ulla, who like Jürgen has a son from a previous marriage, tied the knot with the football manager in December 2005.
Ulla went on to write two children's books in 2008 and 2010, the first of which - Tom and the Magic Football - is about an 11-year-old boy who finds a magic football that turns him into an amazing footballer. She released a sequel, set in Africa, in 2010. Jürgen described it as, "like Harry Potter but about football. There's no flying on his f****** stick".
When Jürgen joined Liverpool FC as manager in 2015, with the challenge of returning the 18-time champions of England to the top of the game after a spell of underperforming, Ulla came with him. On their first night, the couple made the short walk from the Hope Street Hotel to the Old Blind School bar on Hardman Street where well-wishers asked for photos.
Kirsty Lucas said: "We saw [Jürgen] and his wife across the bar and sent some drinks over to them. We got talking to them and congratulated him on the appointment. He bought us a round of drinks as a thank you and his wife got a picture of us all together.
"He was so welcoming and friendly and was cracking loads of jokes with us. He found I was an Everton fan and told me I had to leave! They were both lovely and just really down to earth people, but we didn't sit with them for too long because loads more people had spotted it was Jürgen."
The Klopps moved into a Formby mansion formerly lived in by Brendan Rodgers and Steven Gerrard and have since become popular figures in the village. Occasionally spotted in local pubs and restaurants, Ulla takes long walks on the beach with their dog Emma, who she once saved from swallowing a stinging jellyfish while holidaying in Germany by pulling it from the dog's throat. Ulla is also admired for her generosity, garnering praise for her "amazing" act of kindness when she gave £1,000 worth of £50 vouchers to staff working in Waitrose, Formby as a 'thank you' for working on the frontline during the pandemic.
One person said: "This was an incredible thing to do. Typically, Ulla didn't want to make a fuss, or receive any recognition, and just wanted people working in shops to get the recognition they deserve."
