Jurgen Klopp is expected to be unveiled as Germany’s new head coach on Friday (24 July), after reaching an agreement with his current employer Red Bull that clears his path to the role.
Sources told DPA that Klopp met Red Bull sports director Oliver Mintzlaff on Saturday (18 July), before confirming on Sunday that a deal had been struck to release him from his position as global head of soccer at the drinks company’s sports arm.
“I have reached an agreement with Red Bull, a generous arrangement,” Klopp told MagentaTV, where he has been working as a pundit at the World Cup final. Speaking on the terms with the German Football Federation (DFB), he added, “Nothing is final yet, but the talks are ongoing and everything is moving in the right direction.”
Pending approval from the DFB’s supervisory board and other stakeholders, Klopp is set to be appointed until 2030 and formally presented on Friday, according to DPA sources and Sky. He would succeed Julian Nagelsmann, who resigned after Germany’s round of 32 exit to Paraguay at this summer’s tournament.
The DFB said on Sunday it was “not commenting on the current state of negotiations with Jurgen Klopp” and that a final decision would rest with the relevant governing bodies. DFB president Bernd Neuendorf and his deputy met Klopp last week and agreed the framework of a contract reportedly running to 2030, before holding further talks with Mintzlaff this week.
A significant severance payment was reportedly ruled out early in negotiations, though Red Bull had suggested alternative arrangements, including Klopp continuing to represent the company commercially, an idea said to have been viewed unfavourably by the DFB. Klopp, 59, had been under contract with Red Bull until 2029, having joined in January last year after leaving Liverpool seven months earlier to step back from coaching. He won two Bundesliga titles with Borussia Dortmund and a Premier League and Champions League double with Liverpool.
Speaking separately on German television at the final, Klopp confirmed the agreement while taking a swipe at reports that had pre-empted the announcement. “When the time comes, we can announce it ourselves and won’t need others who are always too quick to jump the gun,” he said, adding that he expected the move to be finalised “in the next few days, ideally”.
Germany’s first fixture after their World Cup exit comes in under 70 days, away to the Netherlands in the Nations League in Amsterdam, a match Klopp is now expected to take charge of.
Elsewhere in the DFB’s reshuffle, 2014 World Cup winner Per Mertesacker confirmed talks were ongoing over a potential role at the federation, with managing director Andreas Rettig departing at the end of the year. The former Arsenal academy head and Germany defender has been tipped by pundits as a possible successor. “You have to give the DFB credit for one thing, they’ve never really lost touch with me. Things have picked up a bit again over the last week. We’re talking, so to speak. But there’s nothing to announce yet,” Mertesacker told ZDF, where he has also worked as a World Cup pundit.
