Jurgen Klopp will be ‘Dr Football’ in his new role at global giant Red Bull

Trent Alexander-Arnold of Liverpool in action during the Carabao Cup Semi Final First Leg match between Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on January 08, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)

By Craig Ray

15 Jan 2025

Jurgen Klopp has described his new role as ‘Dr Football’ with Red Bull, although it’s unclear what cures he will administer.

Jurgen Klopp, the former Liverpool manager, is 57 years old and has no immediate plans to be on the touchline of a major football team again. But his desire to keep learning and evolving to improve his tactical, technical and emotional nous, and in return pass on his knowledge, is unsated.

“I want to figure out how Mr Verstappen (four-time F1 champion Max Verstappen) has such high focus when he is driving at 300mph and going into a bend that is 180 degrees, and performs under that pressure,” Klopp said.

“Give me that information and I will try to translate it to football.”

klopp Head of global soccer at Red Bull Jurgen Klopp at Red Bull Hangar-7 at Salzburg Airport, Austria, on 14 January 2025. (Photo: Marcel Engelbrecht / sportphoto / Getty Images)

Klopp was speaking in a hangar at Salzburg Airport, flanked by F1 cars, acrobatic planes and other objects owned and sponsored by global energy drink giant Red Bull at his unveiling as the company’s “head of football”.

Verstappen, of course, races for the Red Bull Formula One team. As part of the brand that has become synonymous with sporting excellence, especially in extreme sports, Klopp will have endless minds to pick.

Conversely, the Red Bull athletes’ stable is crammed with incredible performers from Verstappen and water sports legend Kai Lenny, and South Africa’s own Siya Kolisi and Brad Binder, who might want to learn from Klopp.

It seems to be a good match as Klopp was the soccer equivalent of an extreme coach with his high-intensity, “heavy metal” style that was wonderful to watch, but came with a degree of risk.

The sporting arm of Red Bull appears to be a company happy with risk-taking while pushing boundaries. Even soccer, where the concept and context of “extreme” is not a matter of life and death like some other ventures, can still offer its own version of adrenaline-spiked risk.

The job

What exactly will Klopp do at Red Bull though?

Well, that’s not entirely clear at this stage. Red Bull owns the Salzburg and Leipzig soccer clubs and has a stake in Ligue 2 side Paris FC, and sponsors New York in Major League Soccer (MLS) with other round-ball interests in Japan and Brazil.

Obviously, he is there to make the company’s soccer properties better and perhaps even dominate their leagues and continental titles. Perhaps not, and instead continue to be money-making ventures that sell their best players to clubs, ironically, such as Liverpool.

jurgen klopp anfield Former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp waves goodbye to fans in front of the Kop at Anfield after his final match in charge of the club, against Wolverhampton Wanderers, on 19 May 2024. (Photo: Clive Brunskill / Getty Images)

As a former Dortmund coach, Klopp’s move to Leipzig, however adjacent, has not gone down well in Germany where there has been criticism of his new career.

“I saw 42,000 supporters from Leipzig,” Klopp said of watching Leipzig beat Werder Bremen in the Bundesliga last weekend, which sparked an outcry from Dortmund fans.

“I understand and know what everyone is saying about it when they see me there. But I thought: ‘Do they not deserve good football, all the people who are interested in Leipzig and want to see them win?’ For me, it’s a completely natural thing.

“I really felt, ‘They deserve it’ and I think it’s worth giving. Not only there: it’s Salzburg, fans in New York, in Japan, in Brazil. They deserve support and improvement. I want to give it.

“A doctor doesn’t differentiate when a patient is coming from a different city. A lawyer doesn’t, either. If you like, I’m Dr Football. I love helping wherever I can, where I can give my all.”

Just how and what Klopp will do on a day-to-day basis seems clear only to him and his bosses at this stage.

But given his track record, the love and esteem he is held in at Mainz, Dortmund and Liverpool, the three clubs he managed over 20 years, it’s almost certain he will inspire people at his new workplace.

Outside of his tactical approach, it is his emotion – his warmth and energy – that has inspired clubs and entire cities.

Changed man

After a break from the game, Klopp has regained the energy he admitted was waning in the Premier League with Liverpool, which led him to announce his departure in January 2024.

He admitted, though, that his nine years on Merseyside, scrapping daily in the intensity of English soccer, had changed him.

“After nine years in England you cannot be the same person,” Klopp said. “I had investors in (at Liverpool) and I can’t change that. Nobody thought about that.

“They have the same discussions there about ownership and ticket price. You cannot come back and have the same view as everyone else who never saw another (type of) football. In my opinion people deserve the best possible.”

Naturally, Klopp was quizzed on Liverpool’s current form, which sees them top of the Premier League.

He was asked about the transfer sagas brewing over Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dyk and Trent Alexander-Arnold and he was interrogated on the Club World Cup and the 115 financial charges against old rivals Manchester City. There are now 130 charges.

Mohamed Salah of Liverpool. (Photo: Harry Murphy / Danehouse / Getty Images)

Trent Alexander-Arnold liverpool Trent Alexander-Arnold of Liverpool. (Photo: Julian Finney / Getty Images)

After nearly a decade of jousting with the British press on a daily basis, Klopp gave a masterclass in answering without saying too much.

On Salah: “I hope he (Salah) stays,” Klopp said.

“He’s the biggest striker Liverpool have had in modern times. Obviously there were other really good strikers. He’s a fantastic player, a fantastic human being, an outstanding athlete. The best ambassador your country could have. I hope he stays at Liverpool.”

‘Useless’

Transfer issues at Liverpool? “I’m so happy I’m not in charge of that situation and dealing with those questions every week,” Klopp said.

“I would love all three of them to extend their contracts. They do not tell me what is going on. When Virgil is 41 to 44, I’m sure he’d love to play for New York … I’d welcome him with open arms.

“I’m not sure we could afford to sign Mo. Trent? I still can’t believe that you discuss that he can’t defend. I watched a few press conferences. Oh my God. Yes, he did not play well against Manchester United.

“Imagine if you made such a fuss of him when he played well as when he did not play well. It would be such a cool planet.”

Liverpool’s form? “I’m so happy for them that they do so well,” he said. “There is not a 1% part of me that thinks I should be there. I am more than happy not to be there. I wish them all the best and I watch as many games as I can. They are maybe the best-balanced team in the world right now.”

Klopp was less diplomatic about Fifa’s new Club World Cup, even though one of Red Bull’s teams are in it.

“I know Salzburg is playing in the Club World Cup — do I have to say I love the competition? — I don’t,” Klopp said. “It’s useless. It doesn’t help. You have no summer break.

“For some players, who played the Euros or Copa America last year and are playing through this summer, who wins the tournament are the poorest winners of all time because they have to play the whole summer through, and the league starts again.

“We have a lot of injuries in European football, again the muscle injuries, that sort of thing. At some point we have to reduce the amount of games. That means in some leagues it would be better if you had 18 (teams) instead of 20.”

And City and their legal problems, that might, if it goes badly for them, see Liverpool crowned with a retrospective Premier League title or two?

“We had this discussion when I left. I haven’t spent a lot of time (at home) in Mallorca because I’m always flying around the place,” Klopp said.

“If it would happen, I told all the people who wanted to just book a flight (to Mallorca): ‘I will buy the beer.’ Whatever we have to celebrate, we do it. We would have our own parade in my garden. Oh God, what a headline.” DM

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Sport

The job

Changed man

‘Useless’