Former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has agreed a deal to become Red Bull’s global head of football from January 1 2025, Afrosport reports.
The German tactician has been without a job since leaving Liverpool back in May having led the club to their first league title in 30 years, the Champions League title in 2019, the FA Cup in 2022, and two Carabao Cup trophies during his nine-year spell in charge of the team.
The 57-year-old will be tasked with overseeing the Red Bull network of clubs which includes RB Leipzig in Germany’s Bundesliga, RB Salzburg in the Austrian Bundesliga, and New York Red Bulls in America’s Major League Soccer.
The company is also in charge of Brazilian clubs; Red Bull Bragantino and Red Bull Brasil. They also invested in Leeds United during the summer.
Klopp will be required to cover Red Bull’s day-to-day football operations while advising on playing philosophy, development and transfers of players and head coaches.
Furthermore, Klopp has negotiated an exit clause that would allow him to take the German national team job – should he be approached.
In his statement on the Red Bull website, Klopp said: “After almost 25 years on the sideline, I could not be more excited to get involved in a project like this. 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.”
CEO of Corporate Projects and Investments at Red Bull, Oliver Mintzlaff, hailed the appointment as the biggest in the history of Red Bull’s involvement in soccer to date.
“We are very proud of this outstanding and certainly the strongest signing in Red Bull’s soccer history,” he said. “Jurgen 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.”
