Jurgen Klopp wants back in. After two years away from the dugout, the former Liverpool manager has confirmed he's open to succeeding Julian Nagelsmann as Germany head coach — and the pieces are aligning faster than anyone expected.
Nagelsmann stepped down last week after Germany were eliminated at the last-32 stage of the World Cup, beaten on penalties by Paraguay. It was an ugly exit for the host nation's neighbours, and the DFB immediately needed a name. Klopp's was the first one out of everyone's mouth.
The Red Bull complication
There's a wrinkle. Klopp has been Red Bull's global head of soccer since January 2025, an advisory role overseeing their network of clubs worldwide. Any move to Germany's dugout requires sign-off from Red Bull CEO Oliver Mintzlaff — Klopp said as much himself. That conversation hasn't happened publicly yet, but the direction of travel is obvious.
He was already at the World Cup working as a pundit for Magenta TV when Nagelsmann resigned. Klopp didn't waste time making his interest known. That's not someone reluctantly dragged back in — that's someone who saw the seat open up and leaned forward.
Jermaine Jenas, speaking to 10Bet, put it well: "From Klopp's point of view, he seems to have consciously made the decision to slow things down in his life after leaving Liverpool. After having a break, it feels like he's getting the flavour again for wanting to do something."
Why Germany makes sense right now
Klopp's career ran at full intensity from Mainz to Dortmund to Anfield — barely a breath between chapters. The break was deliberate. The question was always what came next, not whether something would.
International management suits where he is right now. No daily training-ground grind, no transfer windows to manage, no squad politics every week. Jenas flagged that adapting to the rhythm of international football — seeing players for camps rather than every day — will be the adjustment. But Klopp's relationship with German football runs deep, and Germany consistently produce the kind of squad that makes the job manageable even in a down cycle.
Whoever backs Germany at the next Euros will be watching this appointment closely. A Klopp-led Germany side carries different odds than one cobbled together under an interim. The DFB know it. The market will too, once this is confirmed.
"With his German roots and links to the league for so long, it feels like a perfect fit," Jenas said. Hard to argue with that.
