Jurgen Klopp's chaotic 48 hours: Red Bull civil war as Liverpool legend drops next job hint

Updated: 12 Jun 2026 18:44 BST | 6 min read

Tom Weber | Writer

Multilingual sports writer who specialises in European football and American soccer.

Former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp finds himself in the spotlight in Germany following a chaotic two days.

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The 58-year-old has been Red Bull's Head of Global Soccer since January 2025, having surprisingly taken the job just a few months after announcing his departure from Liverpool, despite saying that he needed an extended break from football.

His role is primarily an advisory one. On paper, Klopp is supposed to be a supporter of former Bayern and Germany striker Mario Gomez, who is the technical director of Red Bull International, as well as the company's CEO Oliver Mintzlaff.

Klopp wanted to get away from the daily grind of coaching and experience upper management, which had fascinated him for some time. He viewed the Red Bull job as a major opportunity to broaden his horizons.

As part of the role, Klopp offers advice on all matters football to every club in the Red Bull cosmos, including on coaching sackings and appointments and transfers. His broad remit means that he has his fingers in a lot of pies...

Klopp's role in Red Bull civil war

When he took the job, the former Mainz and Dortmund boss insisted that he did not intend to be a daunting presence that looms over the coaches at Red Bull. He made it clear that he was not coming for their jobs.

Klopp has made no secret of the fact that he has no intention of returning to club management, at least for the time being. In his role as Head of Global Soccer, he wanted to be an advocate for the coaches in the system, offering advice and protecting them.

Having spent decades as an elite-level manager, Klopp believed that he could offer a unique perspective and protect the coaches. After all, he knows better than anyone what it's like to work in that highly-pressurised environment, right?

It is easy to understand his standpoint, but perhaps the 58-year-old gave himself a bit too much credit. After all, he is part of a very select group of coaches who have never been sacked or even been at serious risk of being sacked.

If he wanted to protect the coaches at Red Bulls, then he has clearly failed to do so. There has been a fair bit of churn at Red Bull clubs since his arrival, and while we don't know for sure what kind of role he played in the various departures, we know that Klopp is currently involved in a remarkable power struggle.

For a few weeks now, things have been far from rosy behind the scenes at RB Leipzig, Red Bull's flagship club. Despite leading the Saxon side back into the Champions League, head coach Ole Werner is at serious risk of being sacked.

However, Werner isn't being put under pressure from Leipzig's leadership. It's quite the opposite, actually: Leipzig director Marcel Schafer wants to hand the coach a new contract after just one season for what he believes has been a job well done so far.

The scrutiny is coming from above - from Red Bull's global team, led by Mintzlaff, Gomez and Klopp. On Thursday, Sky Germany provided a bit of insight into the situation and revealed that Werner has actually been under pressure for months.

It is claimed that the global team twice suggested sacking Werner during the 2025/26 season. The bosses believe that performances haven't been up to par, that the team is overly reliant on Yan Diomande and that there was plenty of luck involved in their third-placed Bundesliga finish.

After weeks of rumbling on in the background, it is thought that the situation has now escalated. Klopp and company are said to have formally requested that Werner be sacked by Leipzig, with reports suggesting that his relationship with the global team has never been particularly cordial.

By the time you are reading this, it is possible that Werner has already been axed.

Klopp currently doing World Cup punditry

The situation is quite surreal given that Werner achieved exactly what was expected of him after an absolutely disastrous 2024/25 season under Marco Rose - a former player of Klopp's at Mainz - and interim boss Zsolt Low, who is now also part of the global set-up at Red Bull.

Yet the situation is made even more bizarre by the fact that Klopp is not even in Germany while all of this is going on. When the news broke on Thursday, he was at the Estadio Azteca doing World Cup punditry for German broadcaster Magenta TV alongside Thomas Muller.

Klopp is supposed to be Red Bull's coaching expert - which includes scouting and talking to potential candidates - yet he is not present during a crucial time for the biggest club in the network.

We can only speculate, but perhaps situations like this are why he has faced some pushback in recent months. Agreeing to do World Cup punditry during a hugely important summer is just not a great look. Let's not forget that RB Leipzig are supposed to be Bundesliga title contenders.

Klopp continues to insist that he is fully committed and happy in his current role. His agent has grown annoyed with the constant speculation linking him to clubs like Real Madrid, who have now appointed Jose Mourinho, and Al-Ittihad.

But it is no secret that the German national team job appeals to Klopp. In fact, it is believed that his Red Bull contract contains a release clause that can only be triggered by the DFB.

He played into those rumours on Thursday during his punditry gig when he discussed Germany's best starting line-up with Muller, who insisted that Kai Havertz has to start for the DFB team.

In response, Klopp, clearly joking, quipped: "Fortunately, not Thomas but Julian Nagelsmann is choosing the team - for now." After a brief pause, he reiterated with added emphasis: "For now."

Muller's reaction was priceless: he burst out laughing and said, "Kloppo! It's only June! You're already living in September."

Despite still being under contract, it is thought that Nagelsmann could leave his role as Germany head coach after the World Cup to return to club management.

Klopp would be the obvious replacement - but by taking the job this summer, he would do so leaving scorched earth behind at Red Bull.

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Written by

Tom Weber | Writer

Tom Weber is an experienced, multilingual sports writer who specialises in European football and American soccer as part of his freelance work for FootballTransfers.

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