Liverpool's struggles in Arne Slot's second season in charge has given rise to rumours of a possible return to Merseyside for Jurgen Klopp, but there are many reasons why it won't happen
Jürgen Klopp
Jurgen Klopp doesn't need to risk his Liverpool legacy(Image: Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images)
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Jurgen Klopp has been very careful never to say never. "I said I will never coach a different team in England so that means, if [I did return], then it's Liverpool," he said last year. "So, yeah, theoretically it is possible."
Klopp left Liverpool at the end of the 2023/24 season, having spent eight and a half years in the Anfield hot seat. He is approaching two years out of the job and much of that time has been filled with rumours, about a return to Liverpool one day, about Real Madrid, about the England job, about becoming Germany boss.
And yet he remains Red Bull's head of global football.
The rumours have returned recently. With Liverpool struggling under Arne Slot, sitting fifth in the Premier League, 21 points behind leaders Arsenal, and with reports that sporting director Richard Hughes could be heading for Saudi Arabia. A period of change could be coming at Liverpool after their massive spend in the summer transfer window didn't have the desired effect.
But a return for Klopp? That has resurfaced, in part, because he is returning to Anfield for a charity legends match against Borussia Dortmund on March 28.
It also owes much to the passing of time. Absence makes the hurt grow fonder, it heals wounds and it adds heft to the nostalgia. Fans have grown weary of watching Slot's side struggling to press their opponents and fading in matches.
"The biggest thing that stands out for me that Liverpool have lost is the press," Jamie Carragher pointed out recently. "Pressing wasn't just a Jurgen Klopp thing, but the whole point of people saying 'its tough going to Anfield' is not that Liverpool are always amazing on the ball or got the best players. It was that its a tight pitch, the fans are on top of you, Liverpool get after you and win the ball back and go forward - and that is something that is sorely lacking and is the biggest problem at Liverpool right now."
Jurgen Klopp
Jurgen Klopp doesn't sound like he's in a rush to return to management(Image: Peter Byrne/PA Wire)
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Faced with those current problems, it is tempting to think back to the peak Klopp years, to full-throttle, aggressive, gegenpressing, energy-filled brilliance. You are hardly going to remember the reasons why Slot arrived to replace Klopp in the first place. Even if those reasons explain why the German isn't about to jump at the opportunity to return and become a saviour to the red side of Liverpool all over again.
When he announced his departure in January 2024, Klopp said he was "running out of energy" before adding: "I know that I cannot do the job again and again and again and again."
In short, he was burnt out. The end days of Klopp at Liverpool bear some similarities with Pep Guardiola at Manchester City right now: increasingly weary, introspective and, frankly, not as good as he once was.
After releasing himself from the extremely intense whirlwind of elite-level club management, Klopp has found himself a much better balance with Red Bull, where he overseas their multi-club structure, earns £10million per season and has a lot more flexibility.
Juergen Klopp and Ulla Sandrock during the 54th Ball des Sports gala at Festhalle Frankfurt on February 22, 2025 in Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
Jurgen Klopp and Ulla Sandrock are enjoying a slower pace of life(Image: Gisela Schober/Getty Images)
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"I want to get to know a different life," the 58-year-old said in May 2024 while speaking about his new laid-back life with his wife Ulla in their £3.4m Mallorcan villa.
“I’m in a place, as a person, where I’m completely at peace with where I am. I don’t want to be somewhere else,” Klopp told AFP in January. “Do I want to coach again? At the moment, I would say no, but I cannot say never, never, never. I don’t expect to change my mind, but I don’t know.”
I believe him. And the one job that could make him change is mind isn't one he has already experienced for 489 matches. He would be risking his extremely positive legacy by returning to Liverpool.
What would make more sense is Klopp leaving his comfortable and well-paid Red Bull gig for the German national team. Carlo Ancelotti has taken over Brazil, Jose Mourinho continues to be linking with the Portugal job. And it is very easy to imagine Klopp succeeding Julian Nagelsmann when the time comes. Until then, he will have to put up with the rumours.
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