Former Liverpool and Borussia Dortmund coach Jürgen Klopp has reacted to criticism and defended his decision to take the job as head of global soccer at energy drink giants Red Bull.
“It was always clear – to me it was clear – that I wouldn’t be doing nothing. And then the Red Bull story came onto the table,” he said in the Einfach mal Luppen podcast hosted by former Germany and Real Madrid player Toni Kroos and his brother, Felix.
“To me that’s outstanding, I have to be honest,” Klopp added. “I don’t know exactly what I could have done to make everyone happy.”
From January 1, 2025, Klopp will oversee Red Bull’s football operations, which include RB Leipzig, Red Bull Salzburg and New York Red Bulls, among others.
After leaving Liverpool at the end of last season, Klopp decided to take a break and was expected to take another coaching job in the future. He was repeatedly linked with the position at the Germany national team.
The move to Red Bull surprised and disappointed many football fans, who accuse the company of using its money to buy success and use the sport only as a platform to advertise an energy drinks.
Klopp sees it differently. When he played against Leipzig in the Champions League, there wasn’t a player in the squad that any other club couldn’t have had, he said.
Players like Willi Orban, Kevin Kampl and Yussuf Poulsen are “absolute club legends.”
In addition, young players such as Dayot Upamecano (now at Bayern Munich), Ibrahima Konaté (now at Liverpool) and Christopher Nkunku (now at Chelsea) could have been signed by anyone else before they had penned a deal with Leipzig.
“That’s just the way it is,” he said. “It has to be said, I have never been so critical of the Red Bull story.”
(dpa)