Soccer
Jurgen Klopp has all but confirmed his return to management after saying talks to become Germany’s new boss were “heading in the right direction.”
Klopp has not been on the sidelines since ending his trophy-laden tenure with Liverpool in 2024, but he is set to replace Julian Nagelsmann in the coming days.
The 59-year-old quickly emerged as the favourite to replace Nagelsmann, who oversaw Germany’s disappointing World Cup campaign this summer.
Germany were eliminated by Paraguay in the round of 32 on penalties, which was the first time they had lost a shoot-out at the World Cup in their entire history.
The German Football Federation (DFB) announced Klopp had agreed the “key points” of a contract to take over earlier this month, and the former Borussia Dortmund boss has now revealed an agreement is close.
“I have a deal with Red Bull, a very generous arrangement. So there is no real obstacle now,” Klopp explained on Magenta TV.
“Everything is heading in the right direction. After the final, we will fly back and aim to sort this out as quickly as possible.”
Klopp stunned everybody in January 2024 after announcing he would depart Liverpool in order to take a break from management, and he has been Red Bull’s Head of Global Football since October 2024.
During his time on Merseyside, Klopp took charge of 489 matches across all competitions, winning 304 of those (D100 L85) and averaging 2.07 points per game in that time.
He spent nine years on Merseyside, winning eight major honours, including ending the Reds’ 30-year wait to lift the Premier League title in 2019-20.
Throughout his time at Red Bull, Klopp has been linked with jobs at Bayern Munich and Real Madrid, but he rubbished those rumours every time they came to his attention.
However, he recently insisted he was “recharged” and ready to return to the dugout, and will now look to turn Germany’s fortunes around after another early World Cup exit.
“Ideally, it should be done in the next few days,” Klopp added. “There are only a few weeks left before the next international match. The decision must be made, and it will be.”
Following back-to-back group-stage exits at Russia 2018 and Qatar 2022, Germany failed to deliver in North America, resulting in Nagelsmann’s tenure being cut short.
Once all the formalities are concluded, Klopp’s first task will be to oversee Germany’s 2026-27 Nations League campaign, with the Netherlands, Greece and Serbia their opponents in Group A2.
His attention would then turn towards a Euro 2028 qualifying campaign, and that tournament could see him return to the city of Liverpool, with games being held at Everton’s Hill Dickinson Stadium.
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