‘I Don’t Miss Anything’: Jurgen Klopp and Why the Ex-Liverpool Boss May Never Return to Management
When Jurgen Klopp walked away from Liverpool in the summer of 2024, he did so as a modern-day legend on Merseyside. Nine years in charge at Anfield had transformed the Reds from hopeful challengers into Premier League and Champions League winners. His “heavy metal football” left a lasting mark on the club and the game itself. Yet just over a year later, Klopp is adamant: he doesn’t miss management, not even a little bit.
At 58, the former Mainz, Borussia Dortmund and Liverpool boss has taken his career in a new direction, and it’s one that might surprise some. Klopp now serves as Global Head of Soccer at Red Bull, overseeing the brand’s group of clubs across Europe and beyond. For a man who once thrived on the adrenaline of the touchline, this shift represents a complete change of pace — one that he insists has been liberating.
From Anfield to Red Bull: The Ex-Liverpool Boss’s New Chapter
When Klopp decided to step down in 2024, he did so on his own terms. He could have seen out his contract, but the toll of 25 years in management had worn him down. Since his first day on the touchline at Mainz in 2001, Klopp had lived and breathed football almost every single day.
The decision wasn’t about footballing decline. Liverpool were still at the top when he walked away, and his successor, Arne Slot, would go on to deliver another Premier League crown in the 2024-25 season. Instead, Klopp’s exit was about balance. He needed to reclaim something he had given up for more than two decades: a normal life.
“I don’t miss anything,” Klopp told The Athletic when asked about whether he longed for the day-to-day challenges of being a manager. “Not. At. All. I was super happy with the way Liverpool performed. I watched some games, but it is not like, ‘Oh, it’s Saturday!’ I didn’t even know when games started. I was just out. I played sports, spent time with the grandkids, and enjoyed life.”
His new Red Bull role allows him to remain close to football, but without the relentless stress of training sessions, tactical tweaks, and the weekly grind of results. He’s no longer chained to the technical area, and it suits him.
Jurgen Klopp on Management: ‘I Don’t Miss Anything’
Klopp’s words could not have been clearer: the touchline no longer calls to him.
“I don’t want to work as a coach anymore,” he admitted. “That’s what I think now. I’m 58. If I started again at 65, everybody will say, ‘You said you’ll never do it again!’ Er, sorry, I thought 100 per cent (when I said it)! But right now, I don’t miss anything.”
It’s a statement that feels almost unthinkable for a figure who seemed so alive in the heat of competition. But Klopp insists the switch has been refreshing. He talks about going to weddings — something he did only twice in 25 years, once his own and another just recently — or sitting in a cinema, something he managed four times in the eight weeks after stepping away.
For the first time since his playing days ended, Klopp has been able to live like everyone else. The freedom to enjoy small things, such as a night out or a trip abroad without football attached, has given him a sense of perspective.
“I was in so many different countries as a coach and I saw nothing of them; just the hotel, the stadium or the training ground,” he reflected. “Now, I can see them properly. I didn’t miss it back then, but I do now — and I can enjoy it.”
A Controversial Move? Klopp’s Red Bull Role Explained
Not everyone greeted Klopp’s partnership with Red Bull with enthusiasm. The energy drink giant’s involvement in football has long been divisive, particularly in Germany, where RB Leipzig remain a flashpoint for debate. But Klopp brushes off the criticism.
“If I went to a foreign country, to Italy or Spain, people would have said, ‘Oh my God, that’s great,’” he explained. “If I go to Bayern or whatever, then especially Dortmund fans would have said, ‘I don’t like it!’”
For Klopp, the decision wasn’t about pleasing everyone. It was about staying involved in football in a way that felt manageable after the breakneck pace of the past quarter-century. He knew he didn’t want to stop working entirely, and Red Bull offered him an opportunity that fit.
“I finished at Liverpool at 57,” he said. “I was 100 per cent sure I would not finish working. I had a break for seven months or so. I enjoyed it — wow! But I always knew I’d do something again, just not coaching.”
Will Jurgen Klopp Ever Return to Management?
Speculation about Klopp’s future hasn’t gone away. Since his departure, he’s been regularly linked with roles, including the Germany national team job. The temptation to imagine him in charge of Die Mannschaft at a major tournament is hard to resist. But Klopp himself isn’t biting.
Right now, he insists he is content. The idea of standing on the touchline, living every second of every game with the same intensity as he once did, feels distant. His passion for football remains undiminished, but it has been re-routed into a different form.
Could that change in the years ahead? Perhaps. Klopp admits he can’t predict how he’ll feel at 65 or beyond. “You don’t know,” he said candidly. For now, though, he is resolute. He is out of coaching, and he doesn’t miss a thing.
Klopp’s Legacy Beyond the Dugout
Even if Klopp never returns to management, his legacy is already secure. In Dortmund, he built one of the most exciting sides in Europe and delivered back-to-back Bundesliga titles. In Liverpool, he ended a 30-year wait for the league championship and brought a sixth European Cup back to Anfield.
But perhaps his greatest achievement was cultural. Klopp didn’t just win; he connected. He gave fans belief, energy, and joy. His charisma, his honesty, and his authenticity made him more than just a manager — he became a symbol of passion itself.
As he enjoys his new life — whether in a boardroom with Red Bull executives, watching his grandchildren play, or sitting quietly at the cinema — Klopp’s story takes on a new chapter. He has traded the chaos of the dugout for something simpler, but no less fulfilling.
And in his own words, he doesn’t miss a thing.
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