A NEW surprising detail of Jurgen Klopp’s job with Red Bull has emerged.
The former Liverpool boss is set to earn a bumper £10m-a-year pay packet as the Global Head of Soccer at Red Bull.
Red Bull have made their new executive’s life a little easier by reducing his travel during his first season.
So much so that Klopp might not appear in any stadium until the end of the current 2024/2025 campaign, according to Sky Germany.
Journalist Florian Plettenberg said: “He intends to work in the background at the start and will be getting a feel for the Red Bull teams on-site.”
Klopp will oversee the management of RB Leipzig, Red Bull Salzburg, New York Red Bulls, two clubs in Brazil and a third-tier Japanese side.
The former Dortmund boss has signed a long-term contract with Red Bull but will not begin in his new job until January 1 2025.
It’s an opportunity that keeps Klopp involved in football without the draining day-to-day demands of being a manager.
Klopp has also been assured that he can walk away from this deal if there is another concrete offer that he wishes to pursue.
The position of the German national team head coach remains an option for him in the future.
FOOTBALL FREE BETS AND SIGN UP DEALS
After a very public admission of exhaustion at Liverpool, the 57-year-old can be forgiven for taking the less gruelling option with Red Bull.
The Austrian energy drinks producer has landed a public relations coup by hiring one of the most respected figures in European football.
In 2009, Red Bull caused controversy in German football when it took over fifth-division club SSV Markranstadt and turned it into RB Leipzig.
German Football Association (DFB) laws state German clubs must operate on a ’50+1′ rule, meaning members – essentially fans – own the majority of shares and can influence decisions such as ticket prices.
Rivals feel RB Leipzig exploited the system by having just 17 members with voting rights – most are directly linked to Red Bull.
Klopp, who left Liverpool in May after “running out of energy”, has received a lot of criticism for joining Red Bull – especially among fans of his former club Dortmund.
By Dave Kidd
NOW we know Jurgen Klopp’s final major trophy haul at Liverpool — one Champions League, one Premier League, one FA Cup, two League Cups and (if you must) a World Club Cup.
But where does his reign stand among the greatest of the Premier League era?
In black-and-white terms, Klopp is way behind Sir Alex Ferguson and Pep Guardiola, the only two men to have won multiple Premier Leagues and a Champions League at the same club.
Those two sit alongside Brian Clough, Bob Paisley and Sir Matt Busby as the undoubted all-time managerial greats of the English game.
But Klopp ranks in the next tier down — with Arsene Wenger, Jose Mourinho (the Chelsea version), Bill Shankly and Don Revie.
These were all men with the strength of character to transform their clubs in their own image and enjoy success but who did not win as much as they might have done.
Had Klopp managed to keep his intentions under wraps and ended up with another title, perhaps even a treble or quadruple, he’d have edged himself up into that highest echelon with Ferguson, Guardiola, Clough, Paisley and Busby.
But deciding the timing and the manner of your exit is one of the toughest calls for any manager or sportsman.
Klopp got it wrong.
Read Dave Kidd’s take on Klopp’s demise in full here.
Or click here to check out all of Dave Kidd’s articles.
