appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

isVideo

articlePageQuery

article

articleSchemaContent

content

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

hooksArticlePageFloatingButtonConfigArticle

appConfig

filter

json

liveArticle

Associated Press

Jurgen Klopp has defended his decision to head up Red Bull’s group of football clubs, saying he “didn’t want to step on anybody’s toes”, after his decision prompted a backlash from fans of his former teams in Germany.
From January 1, 2025, Klopp is taking over as the drinks company’s head of global football in what was widely seen as a surprise move. He will oversee Red Bull’s football operations, which include RB Leipzig, Red Bull Salzburg and New York Red Bulls, among others.
It will be his first job after leaving Liverpool at the end of last season, after deciding to take a break. He was expected to take another coaching job in the future and was repeatedly linked with the position at the Germany national team.
“I didn’t want to step on anybody’s toes, definitely not, and personally I love all of my ex-clubs,” Klopp said in an interview released on Wednesday on a podcast hosted by former Real Madrid and Germany midfielder Toni Kroos.
Klopp suggested any decision he made to coach another club would also have disappointed some fans.
“I really don’t know what exactly I could have done for everyone to be happy,” he said.
Red Bull, and especially its Leipzig team, are widely resented by many German football fans, who see the drinks company as an unwelcome corporate presence trying to buy success.
Fans at Klopp’s former clubs, such as Borussia Dortmund, have criticised the move, and Mainz fans held up banners this month expressing their disappointment and questioning whether he was “crazy”.
Klopp spent 18 years at Mainz as a player and coach before joining Dortmund in 2008, where he went on to lead the club to two Bundesliga titles and the Champions League final.
Klopp said he had never viewed Red Bull’s involvement in football “so critically”, and suggested it played an important role in bringing high-level club football back to the former East Germany with the Leipzig project.

When he played against Leipzig in the Champions League, there was no player in the squad that any other club could not have had, he said.
Players such as Willi Orban, Kevin Kampl and Yussuf Poulsen are “absolute club legends”. In addition, young players such as Dayot Upamecano (now at Bayern Munich), Ibrahima Konaté (now at Liverpool) and Christopher Nkunku (now at Chelsea) could have been signed by anyone else before they had penned a deal with Leipzig.
“That’s just the way it is,” he said. “It has to be said, I have never been so critical of the Red Bull story.”
Klopp previously said he planned to take a “long break” from the game after leaving Liverpool, where he coached his last game in May after nine years with the club.
“I’m 57 so I can still work for a couple more years but I don’t really see myself on the sideline [as a coach] for the time being,” he said. “But it was always clear that I wasn’t going to do nothing at all. And then this story with Red Bull came into the picture, and for me, it’s outstanding.”
Klopp said he saw his Red Bull role primarily as an “adviser” working together with coaches at the clubs backed by the drinks giant. “I always had the feeling that the coach is very, very often the loneliest person at the club,” he said.


Bayern Munich beat Aston Villa in Hong Kong as Unai Emery left with financial puzzle

Bayern Munich chief eyeing China after Hong Kong visit, living dream following Adidas role

Vincent Kompany says English Premier League still king, but Bundesliga next best

Jurgen Klopp will ‘give everything’ in new role as Germany coach until 2030 World Cup

German Bundesliga

Jurgen Klopp defends his decision to join Red Bull after backlash from German fans

German coach Jurgen Klopp, seen here receiving the Order of Merit of the State of Baden-Wuerttemberg, has defended his decision to take the job as head of global football at drink giants Red Bull. Photo: dpa

Leipzig’s Willi Orban (left) and Kevin Kampl are ‘club legends’ anyone could have bought, says Klopp. Photo: AFP

Manchester United sack manager Erik ten Hag, Ruud van Nistelrooy to be interim boss

FILE - Manchester United have sacked Erik ten Hag. Photo: AP

Manchester United’s head coach Erik ten Hag and Bruno Fernandes pose with the FA Cup. Photo: AP

English Premier League faces unprecedented regulation if UK government bill gets go-ahead

The collapse of smaller historical clubs, alongside the global profile of the Premier League and the threat of a rival Super League, has led UK politicians to step in and impose the rules. Photo: dpa

The bill aims at “putting fans back at the heart of the game”, says Britain’s Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy. Photo: AFP

Former Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson to leave £2.16m-a-year ambassadorial role

Former Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson before a Europa League match against FC Twente at Old Trafford in September. Photo: Reuters

Alex Ferguson with the Premier League trophy at Old Trafford at the end of the 2012-13 season. Photo: EPA

Jim Ratcliffe (left) and Alex Ferguson (right) at the Aston Villa v Manchester United match. Photo: EPA-EFE

8 richest soccer coaches in the world in 2024: net worths, ranked – from Spain’s Pep Guardiola and Portugal’s José Mourinho to France’s Zinedine Zidane

Eight richest soccer managers in the world in 2024: net worths, ranked – including from left, Argentina’s Diego Simeone, Portugal’s José Mourinho and Italy’s Carlo Ancelotti. Photos: @simeone, @adidasoriginals, @mrancelotti/Instagram

Jürgen Klopp, who resigned from his role with Liverpool at the end of the 2023/24 Premier League season. Photo: @liverpoolfc/Instagram

Carlo Ancelotti is the most successful manager in UEFA Champions League history. Photo: @mrancelotti/Instagram

Spanish soccer coach and former professional player Pep Guardiola. Photo: @atptour/Instagram

Sir Alex Ferguson talks to the press at Dubai’s Meydan Racecourse in March. Photo: SCMP

Zinedine Zidane has been named Fifa World Player of the Year three times. Photo: @zidane/Instagram

José Mourinho was named Portuguese Coach of the Century in 2015. Photo: @adidasoriginals/Instagram

Diego Simeone is the longest-serving manager in La Liga after starting at Atletico Madrid. Photo: @simeone/Instagram

Wayne Rooney is the youngest manager on the list. Photo: @waynerooney/Instagram

Sport

Football

The former Liverpool and Dortmund manager says he ‘didn’t want to step on anybody’s toes’ after joining the drinks company as operations head


The former Liverpool and Dortmund manager says he ‘didn’t want to step on anybody’s toes’ after joining the drinks company as operations head.


English Premier League

Germany

Jurgen Klopp defends his decision to join Red Bull after backlash from German fans

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}The former Liverpool and Dortmund manager says he ‘didn’t want to step on anybody’s toes’ after joining the drinks company as operations head

The former Liverpool and Dortmund manager says he ‘didn’t want to step on anybody’s toes’ after joining the drinks company as operations head