-
Tom Hamilton, Senior WriterOct 9, 2024, 03:13 AM ET
- • Joined ESPN in 2011
• Covered two Olympics, a pair of Rugby World Cups and two British & Irish Lions tours
• Previously rugby editor, and became senior writer in 2018
Jürgen Klopp is set to make his return to football as head of global soccer at Red Bull, with the former Liverpool manager taking up his role on Jan.1 2025.
Klopp will oversee Red Bull’s network of clubs, and while he will not be involved in their day-to-day running, he will help with “strategic vision,” aid the sporting directors, support their global scouting operation and also help with training and developing coaches.
Editor’s Picks
1 Related
This will be his first official role back in football after he left Liverpool at the end of the 2023-24 season after nine hugely successful years at Anfield. Multiple reports in German media say Klopp’s contract has a break clause if the Germany men’s national team job becomes available after the 2026 World Cup.
Klopp will bring years of experience to the role, having managed Mainz, Borussia Dortmund and Liverpool. In his role, he will work across their portfolio of clubs which includes RB Leipzig, New York Red Bulls, Red Bull Bragantino and recent acquisition Omiya Ardija in Japan.
FC Salzburg, managed by his former assistant coach Pep Lijnders, have distanced themselves from this arm of the company due to UEFA rules, and are only sponsored by the company.
“After almost 25 years on the sideline, I could not be more excited to get involved in a project like this,” Klopp said. “The role may have changed but my passion for football and the people who make the game what it is has not.
“By joining Red Bull at a global level, I want to develop, improve and support the incredible football talent that we have at our disposal. There are many ways that we can do this from using the elite knowledge and experience that Red Bull possesses to learning from other sports and other industries.
“Together we can discover what is possible. 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. As I said, this could not excite me more.”
Jürgen Klopp has returned to football as Red Bull’s head of global soccer. Bernd WeiÃbrod/picture alliance via Getty Images
At Borussia Dortmund, Klopp won the Bundesliga twice (2011, 2012), and the DFB-Pokal (2012). With Liverpool, he claimed the 2019-20 Premier League title to end a 30-year drought, the 2022 FA Cup and the 2019 Champions League, alongside two League Cup triumphs (2022 and 2024).
“We are very proud of this outstanding and certainly the strongest signing in Red Bull’s soccer history,” Oliver Mintzlaff, CEO of corporate projects and investments at Red Bull, said. “Jürgen Klopp is one of the greatest and most influential figures in world soccer, with extraordinary skills and charisma.
“In his role as head of soccer, he will be a game changer for our involvement in international soccer and its continued development. We are hoping for valuable and decisive impulses in key areas to make the clubs even better, both collectively and individually.”
Klopp left Liverpool at the end of last season, saying he needed a break from the day-to-day grind of management.
He vowed to take a prolonged break from the game, despite being linked with the previously vacant United States men’s role. But he’ll head back into the thick of it with Red Bull, in a role previously held by Ralf Rangnick, and is set to be unveiled in mid-January.
