Jurgen Klopp to target player welfare in Red Bull role

Jurgen Klopp said on Wednesday he hoped to be a “mouthpiece for the players” in his new role with Red Bull, for instance by targeting player welfare issues.

In October, the energy drinks company announced the former Liverpool and Borussia Dortmund coach would take over the role from January, overseeing a stable of clubs in Leipzig, New York and Salzburg. 

Speaking on the podcast of former Germany and Real Madrid midfielder Toni Kroos, Klopp called the job “fantastic” and said criticism from some German football fans of his decision to accept the role was “not hugely relevant to me”. 

Klopp said he expected to take on a broad set of responsibilities, including advocating for player welfare.

The 57-year-old spoke regularly about player welfare during his time in the dugout, criticising the number of matches and the turnaround between games.

“I’d like to be a mouthpiece for the players. They say there are too many games — and there are too many games,” he said.  

“In order to keep quality at a high level, the number needs to be reduced. 

“Or you could have larger squads, but that would be very difficult internally over the whole season.”

Klopp has come under fire from some fans in Germany, who are critical of RB Leipzig and the multi-club Red Bull model.

“I’m over 50. It’d be a bit stupid if I couldn’t deal with it. But I do reserve the right to say it’s not hugely relevant to me…. it’s not difficult,” he said.

“I love my former clubs, but I can’t poll the fans and ask them ‘what should I do?’

“If I had gone to Bayern (Munich), there would have been a huge outcry in Dortmund. 

“What should I do? I want to keep working. If you organise your life around trying to please everyone, you’ll find you fail every day.”

Klopp also underlined that he did not see himself returning to coaching, even at international level for Germany. 

“My only real (other) option would have been to become a coach of a national side. But I don’t want to be a coach anymore.”

Klopp threw his support behind current Germany manager Julian Nagelsmann, saying “we would all be happy if Julian did it for 10 years and won four titles.”