Jurgen Klopp says it is “theoretically possible†that he could one day return as Liverpool manager. The 58-year-old walked away from Anfield in 2024, ending a transformative nine-year spell at the club that included a Champions League success and the Reds†first league title in 30 years. He has taken on roles as head of global soccer with the Red Bull group and in an advisory capacity with the German Football League.
Liverpool won the Premier League last season under Arne Slot but many fans who revere Klopp would welcome the notion that he may eventually return. In a wide-ranging interview on The Diary of a CEO podcast, he told Steven Bartlett: “I said I will never coach another team, a different team, in England. So that means if then itâ€s Liverpool…yeah. Theoretically itâ€s possible.â€
He continued: “Iâ€m 58, that means I could make the decision in a few years, I donâ€t know. Do I have to make the decision today? Then I will not coach again. But thank God, I donâ€t have to do that. I can just see what the future brings.â€
Pressed on what circumstances would have to unfold to draw him back to the dugout, Klopp admitted he was not instantly drawn to such a return. “I donâ€t even know exactly, I love what I do right now,†he said. “I donâ€t miss coaching; I donâ€t miss standing in the rain for two-and-a-half or three hours; I donâ€t miss going to press conferences four times, three times a week or having 10-12 interviews a week.
“I donâ€t miss the dressing room as a dressing room, but sitting in a restaurant with the players having a nice chat, thatâ€s nice. We won a lot of games so there was often a very good mood in the building. I still have Virgil [Van Dijkâ€s] laugh in my ear for example.â€
Jürgen Klopp signed Diogo Jota for Liverpool in 2020 and described dealing with the forwardâ€s death as ‘impossibleâ€. Photograph: James Gill/Danehouse/Getty Images
Klopp was full of praise for his successor, crediting him for the tweaks tha took the title last term. Liverpool have lost four in a row in all competitions after a summer spending spree but he rubbished the suggestion it could be the start of a downward turn.
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“[Liverpool have] an incredible striker in Flo[rian] Wirtz, you will all eat your words if you use the wrong words. Heâ€s an incredible talent. [Hugo] Ekitike, incredible player. Itâ€s a really good, well-judged squad. You donâ€t have to worry about Liverpool, they will be fine.â€
Klopp also spoke emotionally about the death of Diogo Jota, a player he signed in 2020, and its impact on Liverpool. The Portugal international was killed in a car crash alongside his brother in July.
“How do you replace somebody like Diogo? Itâ€s not about the player himself, itâ€s the guy he was,†he said. “I canâ€t imagine the dressing room without him in it, thatâ€s so hard. I still cannot speak properly about it. It was an incredible shock for all the boys as well. Nobody at Liverpool will ever use it as an excuse but it is the situation. You walk in a dressing room where he was omnipresent. Dealing with that on a personal level is not easy. Impossible.â€
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