"I've reached an agreement with Red Bull, a very generous one, so there's really nothing standing in the way." Those are Jürgen Klopp's own words — and they tell you everything you need to know about where this is heading.
The 57-year-old, who took up the role of Red Bull's Head of Global Soccer in early 2025 following his Liverpool departure in 2024, has resolved the one obstacle that was blocking his path back to the dugout. The DFB still needs to complete its internal formalities — governing bodies move at their own pace — but Klopp is confident enough to be talking publicly about timelines. An announcement within days, potentially as early as Friday, is on the table.
What Germany are actually getting
This isn't a sentimental appointment. Germany have endured three grim World Cup campaigns in succession, and the DFB aren't hiring Klopp because he's famous — they're hiring him because nobody in the game is better at rebuilding collective belief in a dressing room that's lost its identity.
Mario Götze, the man who won Germany the 2014 World Cup, put it well: "What he understands, and what most coaches may not, is how to manage people. He said he has to put people who like each other together so they can perform at 120 per cent instead of 100 percent." That's not a motivational poster quote. That's a specific coaching philosophy that turned mid-table Mainz into a Bundesliga club, Dortmund into genuine Champions League contenders, and Liverpool into European and domestic champions.
Sporting director Rudi Völler stays, which gives the setup some structural continuity. Klopp will reshape the coaching staff around him — that's how he's always worked, surrounding himself with people who share his intensity and his clarity of purpose.
The broader picture
For Germany's qualifying odds heading into the next major cycle, this shift matters. A disorganised national side with a fractured identity is one thing to price. A Klopp-led Germany, given a full preparation window and the pick of a genuinely talented generation, is quite another.
Nothing is signed yet. But Klopp said it himself — they're not far from an announcement. At this point, the remaining formalities are just paperwork.
