Jürgen Klopp talks Life After Football
Jürgen Klopp opens up about his life after stepping away from Liverpool’s sideline in 2024. In an exclusive Soccerbible interview, he talks about his time-off after leaving the Premier League. But stepping away didn’t mean stepping back. Now, in a new global role with Red Bull, Klopp is shaping the game from a completely different angle. He also shares his thoughts on modern football culture and how it impacts players.
Life After the Touchline
After years of constant pressure, Klopp finally experienced something rare: time off. No matches every three days, no immediate results to chase. It gave him space to reflect on his journey and how much the role of a manager had changed over time. But even during that break, one thing was clear. He wasn’t done with football.
Klopp describes life after Liverpool as completely different from anything he had experienced before. For the first time in decades, he stepped away from football for an extended period, taking eight months off was the longest break of his career. During that time, he travelled extensively, including cruises to Australia and South Africa, enjoying a slower pace of life. Still, he quickly realised that a permanent break from football was never going to satisfy him, knowing he would return once the right opportunity appeared.
While the break itself didn’t fundamentally change his view on football, he reflects on how much his perspective has evolved over the years. Comparing his early days at Mainz to his final period at Liverpool, he sees two completely different versions of himself. At Mainz, he operated almost entirely on his own, handling analysis, scouting, and multiple roles with only minimal support staff. That experience, he explains, gave him a deep respect for every function within a club, as he understands firsthand what each role demands.
As the game grew more complex, Klopp built strong teams around him, surrounding himself with specialists who could challenge and support him. He emphasises that this was essential to delivering better information and performance for his players. Throughout his career, he consistently focused on self-development alongside player development, seeing this as one of his key strengths. Even now, away from daily coaching, his core philosophy remains unchanged. For Klopp, leadership still begins with listening. A principle that continues to define his approach.
Klopp’s New Global Position at Red Bull
Klopp’s return to football didn’t come on the touchline, but behind the scenes. As Head of Global Soccer at Red Bull, he now works across clubs and continents. The pressure is different, but the intensity remains. Instead of preparing for the next match, he’s shaping long-term ideas and structures.
Klopp describes his new role at Red Bull as intense, but in a completely different way from coaching. Having spent over a year in the position, he feels he has already accumulated several years’ worth of experience due to the pace and complexity of the work. Despite the demands, he expresses clear enjoyment, highlighting how the role has broadened his thinking and allowed him to approach football from a new perspective.
One of the biggest differences, he explains, is the absence of constant short-term pressure. Unlike his time as a manager, where every few days revolved around the next match, he now has the space to think more strategically and focus on long-term decisions. While he looks back on his coaching career with appreciation and describes himself as fortunate to have lived that life, he also acknowledges the sacrifices it required. Often having to ignore normal life in pursuit of results.
In contrast, his current role still demands full commitment, with long working days, but offers a different kind of balance. Klopp remains fully invested, working from morning to night, but with a broader perspective on the game. He also highlights how closely his career aligns with Red Bull’s philosophy. For much of his managerial journey, success depended on developing players and then losing them, requiring constant rebuilding. He stresses that this model is often misunderstood from the outside, where people assume success comes from simply spending money. Instead, he underlines that sustainable success relies on structure, smart decision-making, and strong development systems.
In that sense, Klopp sees himself as a natural fit for the role. His own career reflects the same principles Red Bull stands for: building teams, developing talent, and remaining competitive despite constant change.
The Transformation of Football Culture and Player Development
Beyond his new role, Klopp reflects on the bigger picture of football. From coaching styles to player development and the impact of social media, the game has changed massively. His focus now is helping others grow rather than leading from the front. But his core ideas about football and leadership remain the same.
Klopp outlines player development as a combination of timing, support, and environment. Providing opportunities at the right moment is crucial, as is maintaining consistent support throughout a player’s progression. He stresses that fundamental elements such as training and repetition remain essential, as development cannot occur without them. However, he also identifies two major risks: overwhelming players too early and lacking patience. Both, he explains, can significantly hinder or even destroy talent.
In his work with young players, Klopp focused on recognising positive aspects rather than immediately judging weaknesses. When players struggled in certain areas, he viewed it as part of the learning process rather than a fixed limitation. He contrasts this with external judgments, which often label players too quickly without considering their potential for growth. He also criticises the tendency to compare young players to established stars like Lionel Messi, noting that such comparisons are unrealistic and unhelpful. Each player develops differently, and progression takes time. Ultimately, Klopp defines development as consistently doing the right things, at the right time, for the right duration.
Klopp describes the transformation of football culture as significant, largely driven by the rise of social media. In contrast to earlier stages of his career, where criticism would appear in newspapers the following day, feedback is now immediate and constant. He explains that players are exposed to opinions almost instantly, often before they have even left the dressing room. During his time as a manager, he would actively monitor comment sections to understand what players might be seeing and feeling, allowing him to support them more effectively. He highlights the challenge of helping players manage this constant exposure, emphasising that it is impossible to satisfy everyone. Maintaining focus and internal communication within the team is therefore essential.
Klopp also points to the speed at which criticism can escalate, with negative reactions quickly spreading and intensifying online. This creates an environment that can be overwhelming for players. As a result, he stresses the importance of disconnecting when necessary. Stepping away from phones and external noise to focus on performance and development. He notes that this was far easier in the past.
Looking ahead, Klopp underlines the need to ensure that football continues to produce strong, intelligent individuals despite these challenges. While previous generations developed without these pressures, he believes it is crucial to adapt and maintain that standard in the modern game.
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