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Jurgen Klopp walked away from football at the end of last season when he left Liverpool after always nine years at the club, but he is now set for a return to the game in the New Year.
Jurgen Klopp has agreed to become Red Bull’s new ‘Global Head of Soccer’ as he makes a first return to the game since his departure from Liverpool last summer.
Klopp will advise Red Bull on their network of teams in Germany, Austria, New York and elsewhere around the world, starting his new role from January 1.
It is also reported that he has an exit option in the deal which would allow him to leave his role and become Germany manager in the future.
Klopp has remained tight-lipped on his future ever since departing Anfield in May after a hugely successful spell in charge.
The German won the Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup, two League Cups and the Club World Cup during his stint at Anfield having arrived from Borussia Dortmund in October 2015. He is credited with changing the entire mood around the Merseyside club, with the Premier League title win their first league success in 30 years.
Klopp shocked the world of football when he announced that he would be leaving Liverpool in January, and he said farewell to the club at the end of the last Premier League season in May.
Klopp left Liverpool during the summer (
PAUL ELLIS/AFP via Getty Images)
He was subsequently linked with a number of high-profile managerial roles but has always maintained that he would like to have a break from football, suggesting that he may never come back as a manager.
Speaking in July, he said: “At the moment, there is nothing at all in terms of jobs. No club, no country. A few people must not have heard this part. And it would be the biggest loss of face in the history of football if you said, ‘I’ll make an exception for you now’.
Klopp’s assistant Pep Lijnders is the manager of REd Bull Salzburg (
Getty Images)
“I’m going to do some work. I’m too young to only do padel tennis and grandchildren. Will that be coaching again? I would actually rule that out at the moment. Let’s see what it will look like in a few months. Nothing is coming through at the moment.”
Klopp’s new role is unlikely to see him back on the front line of football immediately, but he will instead offer his expertise to Red Bull’s football group, who appointed his former Liverpool assistant Pep Lijnders as head coach of Salzburg in the summer.
