Former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp says he's not worried about criticism he has received for his decision to leave football management and take up his current role as global head of soccer at Red Bull. Fans in Germany have made their feelings clear about his new job, but the 58-year-old says he is happy with his new life and does not regret his decision..
Klopp swaps Liverpool for Red Bull
Klopp left Liverpool at the end of the 2023-24 season, bringing down a successful era with the Reds that brought great success and Premier League, FA Cup, League Cup, Champions League and Club World Cup trophies to Anfield. The German then started a new non-coaching role at the start of 2025, overseeing the worldwide network of Red Bull football teams, which includes RB Leipzig, Salzburg, and the New York Red Bulls. Klopp signed a long-term contract with Red Bull and reportedly earns around €12 million (£10m/$12.5m) per year in his new position. Red Bull chief executive offer Oliver Mintzlaff revealed it took approximately "20 seconds" for Klopp to say yes to the job after being approached while enjoying a sabbatical and some time away from football after leaving Liverpool.
AdvertisementGetty/X (@meenzer_on_tour)Mainz fans protested Klopp's Red Bull move
The former Liverpool boss has received plenty of criticism for his decision to move to Red Bull. Fans at Bundesliga side Mainz, where Klopp also enjoyed success as a manager, displayed banners protesting his move which read, "Have you forgotten everything we made you become?" Liverpool fans also expressed their disappointment, telling Klopp the move "absolutely stinks" and accusing him of "selling out". The reaction even led to Klopp interrupting a holiday to explain why he had moved to Red Bull in a video that he posted on social media.
Klopp hits back at his critics
Klopp has now been quizzed on the situation and told that he's not worried by those who do not like his move to Red Bull. He explained: "I knew it (would come). I’m German. I know what people in Germany think about the involvement of Red Bull in football. They love Red Bull. In all departments. But in football? No. So whatever, they want to do it that way.
“Funnily enough, it was only in Germany where the reaction was like that. But that’s fine – no problem. Everybody can think what they want. You just have to accept that I do what I want as long as I don’t hurt anybody. By the way, I don’t expect people to remember what I did for a specific club. The people in Mainz in the stadium now… they were little kids when I was there (1990-2001 as a player, then seven years as a coach), so their parents had to tell them who I was. So that’s how it is, it is absolutely fine."
But Liverpool fans happy with Klopp's decision
Klopp also pointed out that Liverpool fans will have been happier to see him join Red Bull than take on a coaching job at another club. He added: "I don’t expect everybody to like what I do. I have to do it for the right reasons – for my right reasons. By the way, in Liverpool, people are overly happy that I do what I do because I am not coaching another team.
"If I went to a foreign country, to Italy or Spain, people would have said, ‘Oh my God, that’s great.’ If I go to Bayern (Munich) or whatever, then especially Dortmund fans would have said, ‘I don’t like it!’ I finished at Liverpool at 57. I was 100 per cent certain and sure that I will not finish working. I had a break for seven months or so. I enjoyed it – wow!"
