Read 3 minutes24 Jul 2026 05:23 PM IST
Jurgen Kloppwho was confirmed as the new Germany national team coach on Friday, said that if the German media did not respect his family’s privacy, he would leave then and there. Klopp replaces Julian Nagelsmann, who resigned as Germany head coach following a Round of 32 exit by Paraguay at the World Cup.
“If you misbehave and don’t leave my family alone, I’ll leave, I’ll just walk away. I know there are other countries where national team coaches are treated worse. I love this job but I’m always ready to leave if needed,” he said.
Klopp signed a contract to coach Germany until the 2030 World Cup, the German federation said, as he was presented at a press conference. “It’s a great honor to sit here,” Klopp said. “I had an idea of how big the job of a national team coach is, but when you’re directly connected to it, you really feel the scale and the responsibility even more.”
It is Klopp’s first coaching job since leaving Liverpool in 2024 due to exhaustion. He said he was “recharged” in comments he made during discussions about Germany’s job.
A man known for thrilling “heavy metal football” at Liverpool, Nagelsmann stepped down as Klopp became Germany’s preferred candidate.
After weeks of speculation, the 59-year-old German – 20 years older than Nagelsmann – stayed in the United States as a World Cup pundit for a German-language broadcaster.
The federation also held talks with the Red Bull group, where Klopp has spent the past year and a half as “head of global soccer” advising the worldwide group of soccer clubs.
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German federation president Bernd Neuendorf said Red Bull would not be paid a specific release fee for Klopp. Instead, the federation pays one million euros (USD 1.14 million) to a Red Bull-linked charity and has agreed to host three national team games in the eastern city of Leipzig, where Red Bull supports the city’s Bundesliga club team.
Klopp faces a tough introduction to his first national team job with four Nations League games in 11 days against the Netherlands, Greece and Serbia in late September and early October.