Jurgen Klopp hints he may NEVER return to management as former Liverpool boss admits ‘I no longer had a normal life'
JURGEN KLOPP has suggested his managerial career might be over after admitting he doesn't want that life "anymore".
The German coach quit Liverpool at the end of last season after nine years in charge of the Anfield outfit.
2
2
Having now had more than a year to reflect on his career options, Klopp, 58, candidly revealed he believes his time in the dugout could be over.
Speaking to German outlet, Welt, the former Borussia Dortmund boss admitted life as a football coach took him "too far away from a normal life".
He recalled how he lost 16 kilos between his time leaving Borussia Dortmund and joining Liverpool, thanks to being on top of his diet and exercising - something he couldn't do when mulling over tactics.
Klopp said: "I was in a tunnel, but never with myself. Now I pay more attention to myself.
"As silly as it sounds, I stopped doing what I always wanted to do.
"But it took me too far away from normal life – and ultimately, I no longer had a normal life.
"Whatever normal life is: my car knew three ways: to the stadium, to the training ground, and home."
Klopp explained how while he had plenty of visitors in Liverpool, he barely had any time for them - referencing how he had been to two weddings in the last four months as opposed to none in 23 years before that.
Following his Liverpool exit, Klopp has found new roles as Red Bull's Head of Global Soccer and in the latest Hotel: Trivago, advertisements.
But the Premier League and Champions League winner hasn't been short of top clubs wanting to add him to their ranks, with Bayern Munich inquiring over his availability.
Arne Slot shows his class as he leads Anfield in chant about Jurgen Klopp after sealing 20th title for Liverpool
However, despite chats with Jose Mourinho and Roy Hodgson about coaching, his gut feeling is that while he loved his job, he doesn't miss it.
Asked about his links to Bayern, Klopp said: "But I don't want that anymore. I have a job now that fulfills me and is also intense.
"I don't sleep in the morning and I don't go to bed later at night, but I can organise my work much better.
"My wife, for example, is really happy with it because we can plan things much better that we couldn't before...
"Of course I enjoyed it too. Some days I couldn't believe my luck. Just look where I came from - and then I made it to Liverpool FC, and it worked out pretty well there.
"If I were to go back to coaching somewhere, it would all start again. I'm me! I can't just take over and coach.
"Then I'd be completely involved everywhere again. And I just don't see that happening anymore."
On his chats with Hodgson and Mourinho, he continued: "He (Hodgson) came up to me and asked how I was. In the same breath he said to me: 'I miss it.'
"And I was like: 'What?' Roy is 77 years old - and he wants to be a coach again. Unbelievable!
"When we played against Crystal Palace with Liverpool, I always asked him whether his apartment was damp or why he was standing on the pitch now.
"But Jose Mourinho also said to me: 'This is not the end.' There are those coaches who always want to do that. I loved being a coach, but I was never addicted."
Klopp also ruled himself out of taking a job at one of the Red Bull teams.
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.
Or click here to check out all of Dave Kidd's articles.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South Wales Guardian
30 minutes ago
- South Wales Guardian
Dominant Lando Norris secures pole position for Austrian Grand Prix
Norris' world championship bid was dealt a major setback a fortnight ago when he ran into the back of his McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri. But the British driver has been in excellent form at the Red Bull Ring, topping all of the practice sessions he has competed in, before landing the 12th pole of his career. IT'S POLE FOR LANDO! 👏 Great work out there 🧡#McLaren | #AustrianGP 🇦🇹 — McLaren (@McLarenF1) June 28, 2025 Norris' margin over second-placed Charles Leclerc was a huge 0.521 seconds – the biggest of the year so far at the shortest track on the calendar. Piastri, who leads Norris by 22 points in the title standings, could manage only third, 0.583 secs behind his team-mate with Lewis Hamilton fourth. Piastri was unable to complete his final lap in Q3 after Alpine's Pierre Gasly spun ahead of him. After landing his first win of the season last time out in Canada, George Russell ended up in fifth, but Max Verstappen could manage only seventh after he complained that his Red Bull was 'undriveable'. Norris admitted he made a fool of himself when he collided with Piastri in Montreal, and was warned of 'tough conversations' by McLaren team principal Andrea Stella. However, the 25-year-old Bristolian has been in a class of one so far here, and he will start the 11th round of this 24-race season as the favourite to claim a win which could serve as a springboard to get his title charge back on track a week out from his home event at Silverstone. Norris' first lap in Q3 placed him two tenths faster than anyone else, and he then pulled out more than half-a-second with his next lap. 'It was a good lap, that's for sure,' said Norris. 'I feel like my first lap in Q3 was good but I knew I could get more time and I did exactly that. I did what I planned to do and when I do that and it goes right it is usually very good. 'Some of my tough moments have been in qualifying, so to have a performance like that is exciting. I am very happy with today but I want to prove it to myself over and over again and I hope this is just the beginning.' Verstappen is 43 points off the championship pace and he faces the prospect of losing further ground following a disappointing qualifying session at a venue he has so often ruled. Verstappen has won five times in the Styrian mountains, and taken the last four pole positions here, but he has looked out of sorts in his unruly Red Bull machine. Your starting trio for the #AustrianGP 🇦🇹#McLaren — McLaren (@McLarenF1) June 28, 2025 'The car is completely undriveable,' he said over the radio after finishing nearly a second behind Norris. 'It is even worse than before. I don't even know what to say.' Verstappen's Red Bull team-mate Yuki Tsunoda qualified only 18th. Ollie Bearman out-qualified Haas team-mate Esteban Ocon for the fourth time of his rookie campaign, progressing to Q2 and finishing 15th. One of the grid's other rookies, Gabriel Bortoleto, impressed to haul his Sauber into Q3 for the first occasion in his career. He will start eighth on Sunday.
South Wales Guardian
30 minutes ago
- South Wales Guardian
Nice to see the old me back – McLaren's Lando Norris pleased with pole position
Norris' world championship bid was dealt a major setback when he ran into the back of his McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri a fortnight ago. But the British driver has been in excellent form at the Red Bull Ring, topping all of the practice sessions he competed in prior to qualifying, before landing the 12th pole of his career. IT'S POLE FOR LANDO! 👏 Great work out there 🧡#McLaren | #AustrianGP 🇦🇹 — McLaren (@McLarenF1) June 28, 2025 Norris' margin over second-placed Charles Leclerc was a huge 0.521 seconds – the biggest of the year so far at the shortest circuit on the calendar. Piastri, who leads Norris by 22 points in the standings, could manage only third, 0.583 secs behind – his final Q3 lap thwarted following a spin by Pierre Gasly ahead of him – with Lewis Hamilton fourth. After landing his first win of the season in Canada, George Russell qualified fifth on a so-so day for Mercedes. Max Verstappen could manage only seventh after he complained that his Red Bull was 'undriveable'. Norris admitted he made a fool of himself when he collided with Piastri, and he left Canada with a warning of 'tough conversations' to follow by McLaren team principal Andrea Stella. However, the 25-year-old Bristolian has shown signs of his former self in the Styrian mountains, and he will start the 11th round of this 24-race season as the favourite to claim a win which must serve as a springboard to rebuilding his stuttering title charge. Norris' first lap in Q3 placed him two tenths faster than anyone else, before he extended his lead to more than half-a-second. 'Nice to see the old me back every now and then, huh?' said Norris over the radio after taking just the third pole of a season derailed by a number of messy performances over one lap. Later, he added: 'It was easily my best lap of the year. I did what I planned to do, and when I do that and it goes right, it normally goes very, very well. 'Some of my tough moments have been in qualifying, so to have a performance like that is exciting. I am very happy, but I want to prove it to myself over and over again and I hope this is just the beginning. Your starting trio for the #AustrianGP 🇦🇹#McLaren — McLaren (@McLarenF1) June 28, 2025 'It is about consistency. Everyone can be a hero for a weekend. It is a long journey, a long season, and the job I needed to do today, I did it. It doesn't make up for the last weekends but I did it today and that is what mattered.' Verstappen is 43 points off the championship pace and he faces the prospect of losing further ground following a disappointing qualifying session at a venue he has ruled. Verstappen has won five times in Spielberg, and taken the last four pole positions, but he has looked out of sorts in his unruly Red Bull machine. 'The car is completely undriveable,' he said over the radio after finishing nearly a second behind Norris. 'It is even worse than before. I don't even know what to say.' Verstappen's Red Bull team-mate Yuki Tsunoda qualified only 18th on a poor afternoon for the grid's once-all-conquering team at their home event.
Telegraph
35 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Watch: Halo saves drivers' lives in terrifying F2 crash
A spectacular crash in the F2 sprint race delayed the start of qualifying for Sunday's Austrian Grand Prix, with two Britons caught up in an accident which left one car upside-down on top of another. Thankfully, all three of Sami Meguetounif, Luke Browning and Red Bull junior driver Arvid Lindblad - hotly-tipped for an F1 seat in the near future - were able to walk away unhurt from the incident, which occurred on the second lap of the sprint race. But Browning probably had the halo safety device to thank for saving him from serious injury after Meguetounif flew over the top of both his and Lindblad's car and came to rest on his. The 23 year-old Williams academy driver, who drives for Hitech, had been battling Campos' Lindblad for 13th place when Trident's Meguetounif dived up the inside on the approach to T3. Lindblad, 17, who was recently granted an FIA Super License, allowing him to compete in Formula 1 despite being under the minimum age of 18, did not see the Trident driver and turned in. 'The guy came out of nowhere,' Lindblad said afterwards on the radio. 'I had no idea he was there.' Meguetounif, 21, was pitched into a roll and then flipped over, ending upside down on top of Browning's car. Unsurprisingly, the incident triggered red flags. 'I think he'll look back at that as one of the more optimistic moves he's made,' was the verdict of racing driver and commentator Alex Brundle on the passing attempt from Meguetounif. After a 30-minute delay, stewards got the race back underway under a rolling restart led by Joshua Durksen. But an already messy race got messier still after Dino Beganovic was left stranded following contact with Oliver Goethe, also at Turn 3. There was then a final lap incident at the same corner when fourth placed Amaury Cordeel spun, causing the three drivers behind him to run into him.
