Image Credits: Imago Images
It’s been almost two years since Jurgen Klopp stepped away from the Anfield dugout, but the German is still finding ways to stay right at the heart of the football world – just from a very different seat.
Since taking over as Red Bull’s Head of Global Soccer in January 2025, Klopp has been busy overseeing the energy drink giant’s sprawling multi-club network, and this week he was front and centre for one of the project’s biggest moments to date.
On Wednesday, Klopp officially opened the brand-new RWJBarnabas Health Red Bulls Performance Center in Morris Township, New Jersey – an 80-acre, state-of-the-art complex billed as one of the most advanced soccer training facilities in North America.
It will house the New York Red Bulls first team, Red Bulls II and the entire academy under one roof. It will also serve as Brazil’s base camp for the World Cup.
And, as it turns out, the facility is impressive enough to have even tempted Klopp back to management. Speaking to at the ribbon-cutting of the facility, the 58-year-old made a rather eye-catching admission:
“Honestly, this morning, [there] was a moment where I walked in,” he said as quoted by CBS Sports.
“That’s something I could miss, because so far, I didn’t miss anything since I stepped down as a manager, but this, going into a building like that on a good weather day – thank God the weather was not great because otherwise maybe I would’ve gone back [into management]
Before anyone gets carried away, it’s worth stressing this looks a lot more like classic Klopp humour than any genuine hint at a management return. Only last month, the German dismissed speculation linking him to the Real Madrid job as “nonsense”, insisting the Spanish giants hadn’t “called even once.”
Klopp added on the new Red Bull facility:
“To build something special, you need a kind of stability,” the German said. “You need a place where everybody wants to go. You need a place which you call home. You need a place where everything can start growing and in sports, in soccer, it’s no different. You need a kind of place like that. I said the building is wonderful but it’s about the people who are in the building and we have to make sure we use that in the right way.”
Liverpool fans, of course, will always keep half an eye on whatever Klopp does next. While the thought of him ever returning to a rival Premier League club has long been ruled out by the man himself, his comments in New Jersey are a timely reminder that the management itch hasn’t gone away entirely.