Jurgen Klopp on life after Liverpool and his fears for football

Summary

The Athletic FC Podcast

Episode: Jurgen Klopp on life after Liverpool and his fears for football
Date: October 5, 2025
Host: Ayo Akinwolere
Featured Guest: Jurgen Klopp (with interviewer Adam Crafton)

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Episode Overview

This flagship episode features an in-depth, exclusive interview with Jurgen Klopp, a year after stepping down as Liverpool manager and taking up his new role as Head of Global Soccer at Red Bull. The conversation, led by Adam Crafton, explores Klopp's transition away from frontline coaching, his candid reflections on football's demands, his philosophy in his new position, controversies over his Red Bull appointment, and his serious concerns about the future of the sport—including player burnout and the unrelenting schedule.

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Key Topics and Insights

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Klopp’s Transition to Red Bull and Life Beyond Coaching

• Life After Liverpool:

  • Klopp describes his new daily rhythm, which is intense but more flexible compared to club management.
  • He oversees global Red Bull football operations, travels extensively, and builds relationships at various Red Bull clubs.
  • “I’m nine months in and gained four years experience at least, probably meanwhile five here. So it’s super intense. But I love it, love it to bits, to be honest. Miss nothing from my old life.” (07:03)

• Newfound Freedom:

  • Klopp enjoys finally having control over his schedule, a sharp contrast to the relentless demands in England and Germany:
  • “The big difference is I’m much more in charge of my schedule. So I can pack a day full for something and then for the next day, whatever I do then… Didn’t happen too often yet, to be honest. But I could.” (06:45)

• Role at Red Bull:

  • Acts as an advisor in transfers and club development but relies on club professionals for negotiations.
  • Occasionally speaks directly with players to sell them on Red Bull’s vision:
    • “We have big dreams and ideas for the whole thing… The opportunity we got from Red Bull is really cool. But the clubs are in completely different stages.” (08:46)

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Reflections on Coaching & Career

• No Plans to Coach Again:

  • Klopp firmly declares his coaching era is over—though he leaves a sliver of doubt for the distant future.
  • “I don’t want to work as a coach anymore.” (20:29)
  • “That’s what I think. But you don’t know. I’m 58. If I start going to be 65 and everybody tells me, 'you said it would never start, do it again.' Sorry, I thought 100%... That’s what I think now.” (20:58)

• Life Sacrifices:

  • He reveals shocking personal sacrifices made during 25 years in coaching:
  • “In 25 years I was twice on a wedding. One of them was mine and the other one is two months ago… Four times in a cinema. It was in the last eight weeks. … I did so many things not for ages because I couldn’t do it and I didn’t miss it in that moment.” (23:04)

• Being an “Open Book”

  • Klopp wants to mentor sporting directors and coaches, drawing on a career spanning every football scenario:
  • “If somebody asks me something, I’m the most open book I know.” (11:53)

• Loneliness of Coaches:

  • Speaks poignantly about leadership isolation:
  • “It is a very lonely job in the last moment of the decision… This decision-making is not everybody’s made for that. And it’s fine. It’s not no judgment. It’s just like that.” (12:08)

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The Red Bull Philosophy & Criticism

• Controversy in Germany:

  • Klopp admits he anticipated backlash for joining Red Bull, given the company’s contentious place in German football:
  • “I know what people in Germany think about the involvement of Red Bull in football. They love Red Bull. They do in all departments. But football, no.” (18:19)
  • He shrugs off criticism: “I don’t expect everybody to like what I do. I have to do it for the right reasons, for my right reasons and I do that. So that’s absolutely fine.” (18:44)

• Red Bull’s Model:

  • Focus on infrastructure and youth, not just money:
  • “People think about Red Bull and think then they just throw money at it. It’s not at all… What Red Bull offers is infrastructure.” (35:50)
  • Clubs like Leipzig are intended as stepping stones:
  • “We are not the final destination. We are not Liverpool or in former times, Man United. … Other clubs buy our players, so we start again.” (13:14)

• Style of Play:

  • Klopp wants Red Bull clubs to be energetic, youth-driven, and distinctly recognizable in every league.
  • “We are energy… We have to show energy and we have to be different and we have to be younger.” (37:42)

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The Toll of Premier League Management

• Constant Scrutiny and Pressure:
  • Klopp candidly discusses the “smallness” of life for elite managers, overexposure to media, and the repetitive, draining schedule:
  • “I can’t imagine anymore. I don’t want to go back to that.” (24:07)
• Memorable Analogy:
  • “It’s a little bit like…who’s your absolute movie star? ... and in the end he’s like, gets up in the morning, brushes teeth… You don’t think about these little details… But then he goes out and he’s on a film set… you do the same scene 25 times. … I had this life.” (24:42)

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Football’s Frenetic Pace and Player Welfare

• Critique of the Calendar:

  • Klopp is fiercely critical of expanding competitions and the lack of player rest:
  • “At one point we have to take care again of the few people this game wouldn’t exist without them as the players. … There’s no solution besides stop organizing new tournaments in the summer break. So there’s no break anymore for these players, for the best players in the world.” (28:01–29:05)

• On Club World Cup Expansion:

  • Klopp derides the idea of a 64-team Club World Cup as unsustainable:
  • “I saw the number and thought, oh, no. I don’t get into that. Whatever I say always… it’s like I could tell it my microwave. It’s exactly the same effect. … They just forget the players. Nobody thinks about them.” (29:24–30:00)

• Player Voice Suppressed:

  • He notes a culture where players who speak up about scheduling get shut down or ignored:
  • “The players who spoke out got injured the next day… If you don’t talk about it, they will definitely not stop it.” (30:22)

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The State and Future of the Game

• Tactical Shifts:

  • Sees evolving tactics as a cycle:
  • “Managers need that as well, sometimes a new way of looking at it… But I’m not the Pope of football and tell people what to do. At least not outside the Red Bull world. In the Red Bull world, I can do that.” (26:25)

• Growth of Soccer in America:

  • Analyzing New York Red Bulls and the MLS, Klopp is generally optimistic about improving standards:
  • “Quality is constantly increasing, getting better and better and better…We are still in an introduction phase…these big names [help].” (34:23)
  • He notes differences in football culture and fan development compared to Europe.

• Red Bull’s Football Identity:

  • Emphasis on youth development and high-energy football as the cornerstones of the Red Bull identity, aiming for lasting, recognizable style across all clubs. (35:50–37:58)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On leaving coaching behind:

  • “I did it my whole life. It’s crazy, but I don’t miss it so. Because I’m still in football, so that’s fine. And I still work in an environment I know about. But I learn every day, every day new things. And I didn’t do that for a while, and to the extent I do it now.” (21:11)

• On player burnout:

  • “You wouldn’t do that in any other part of life. You put not the best artist out every night until—now it happened. Now he fell down. Hey, sorry, he lost focus.” (29:05)

• On Red Bull criticism:

  • “They love Red Bull [in Germany]. They do in all departments. But football, no. So that’s their whatever. They want to do it their way. Funny enough, the reaction was only in Germany.” (18:18)

• On football’s shifting tactics:

  • “I’m not the Pope of football and tell people what to do. At least not outside the Red Bull world. In the Red Bull world, I can do that.” (27:30)

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Key Timestamps

• [05:43]: Klopp describes his new role and work-life at Red Bull
• [07:03]: Reflects on flexibility, freedom, and the difference from coaching
• [11:53]: Wants to be an “open book”—mentoring coaches and sporting directors
• [13:14]: Discusses Red Bull’s “stepping stone” philosophy compared to Liverpool
• [18:18]: Talks about backlash over joining Red Bull in Germany
• [20:29]–[21:11]: Explains his mindset on not coaching again
• [24:07]–[24:42]: Life’s smallness as a Premier League manager, analogy to movie stars
• [28:01]–[29:05]: Strong criticism of football calendar expansion—concern for player welfare
• [30:22]: Culture of suppressing the player voice
• [34:23]: Thoughts on MLS and soccer culture in America
• [35:50]: Details on the Red Bull model—focus on infrastructure and youth
• [37:42]: Red Bull’s identity—energy, youth, innovation

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Conclusion

Jurgen Klopp’s first major sit-down since Liverpool offers a rich, unfiltered look at his relief and renewal in leaving frontline coaching. He’s honest about the personal cost of top-level management, reflective on football’s growing pressures, and unwaveringly candid about the business of modern football, faults and all. With characteristic charisma and sharp wit, Klopp remains, as ever, a vital, passionate voice for football’s present—and its future.

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For more, read Adam Krafton’s full article on The Athletic.

Transcript

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[Jurgen Klopp]

The Athletic FC.

[Podcast Host (Ayo Akimwalerik)]

Welcome to the Athletic FC podcast with me, Ayo Akimwalerik. Coming up, something super special, an exclusive interview with former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp. We'll hear from the former Liverpool boss and hear him talk about coaching, his thoughts on the state of football right now and also his new life as head of soccer at Red Bull.

[Jurgen Klopp]

Here yesterday we looked at the new training facility. It will be state of the art and I never saw something like it. It's like crazy. Really cool. Walked in, changed two things immediately.

[Podcast Host (Ayo Akimwalerik)]

Yeah, you'll hear Jurgen Klopp and that famous laugh in a conversation with Adam Krafton shortly. And actually Adam is here to set the scene for us. This is a first sit down interview with Klopp almost a year on from when he agreed to take on his new role at Red Bull. How did you find him? Was he less rock and roll than before?

[Adam Krafton]

Yeah, it's like so many of these managers that you see. I mean he left Liverpool now kind of a year and a half ago, but looks younger as everyone seems to when they leave the Premier League and just Sort of have a bit of time to become normal again. You know, he was out of work for around six, seven months, then has gone back into it with Red Bull. But I suppose the kind of really the standout is him basically saying he doesn't see himself coaching again, basically ever. You know, he sort of makes the caveat that if he changes his mind at the age of 65, then everyone will shout at him, saying, you said you didn't want to do it again. But at the moment, he really doesn't. He sounds a bit like someone that's got his life back after 25 years of being all in in the way that we saw. He was incredibly intense. But, you know, lots of kind of interesting observations and still very, very. He's a very charming and disarming person to interview someone. He's one of those people that sort of throws questions back at you a little bit as well. And, yeah, it was a very fun thing to do.

[Jurgen Klopp]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host (Ayo Akimwalerik)]

Did you feel it was, like, as honest as he possibly could be and that he genuinely was like, look, I'm done here. Do you know what I mean? Like, life is good.

[Adam Krafton]

You're here in the interview. But he says things like he felt like he'd stopped learning every day or stopped learning as much as he possibly could every day in the role that he had. He said, actually, I think in 2001, he sat down with his now wife, and they basically said, you know, what if I was to do this? You know, what if it goes wrong if I was to try coaching, and it goes wrong if I don't make it to a certain level? And Ulla, his now wife, basically says, well, you know, worst case, you can drive a taxi. So he says, okay, let's try it. And quite a long time on, you know, he's now really distinguished as probably one of the top three to five Premier League managers of all time. You'd say some would put him higher, some would put him at the lower end of that. And I don't want to sort of like, spoil things. He's. He's about to say. But he's definitely revealing, I think, in terms of the toll that it took on him. Also talks pretty openly about the Red Bull job that he's taken. This new head of global soccer at Red Bull, across all their different teams involved in transfer strategy and coaching development, recruitment. You know, he took quite a lot of criticism when he took that role, particularly from his former teams in Germany who kind of considered him there, and certainly the fans seem to consider him, you Know, some sort of sellout to Red Bull for doing so. Red Bull, of course, incredibly contentious in Germany for their ownership model and you know, for multi club and all those different things that are associated with it. And I think he answers those questions pretty clearly and honestly and some people will like the answer and other people won't. But I thought it's quite refreshing because often you see people not really give honest answers about that stuff. They'll try and kind of be like, oh, you know, I'm trying to save the world through whatever I'm doing. And he just sort of gives a very clear answer and people will make their own mind up.

[Podcast Host (Ayo Akimwalerik)]

Okay, fair enough. Well, appreciate that, brother. And hopefully not too many spoilers there. Adam, let's get into it. Here is Jurgen Klopp talking with the Athletics. Adam Krafton.

[Interviewer]

So I suppose first of all, how are you doing? How are you spending your time at the moment? What does a daily working day for Jurgen Klopp now look like?

[Jurgen Klopp]

It's really on time. But in the transfer we know it was super busy and started with barely bonding with colts and ended late night with colts and travel, travel to Munich, travel to Salzburg, travel to Leipzig, travel to usa, Japan, Brazil, wherever we are, Paris, these kind of things. So be there for a day, two, three or four. The further we go, the longer we stay. Obviously it doesn't make such sense because you cannot come back next week or month can. That doesn't make too much sense concert in contact either. I have a big team around me. I mean, years ago Oliver Mintzlaff had that idea of the global team. Yeah. Mario Benny, people like and a few other people set it up, the global team. And then at one point they had the idea to bring me in as the head of it and now I'm in. But rely obviously massively on more the people around me. I describe it to people like that. I'm nine months in and gained four years experience at least, probably meanwhile five here. So it's super intense. But I love it, love it to bits, to be honest. Ms. Nothing from my old life. The big difference is I'm much more in charge of my schedule. So I can pack a day full for something and for that the next day, whatever I do then. So that's I can do that. Didn't happen too often yet, to be honest. That's why. But I could.

[Interviewer]

But you have the choice.

[Jurgen Klopp]

I have the choice. I can go on holiday and I decide when as well. Okay. Ola decides when. But not the Premier League or the Bundesliga So we do it, but in between the holidays, I'm working, getting relationship to all the clubs, to the decisive people in the clubs, especially to the sports departments in our different clubs. And I really like it.

[Interviewer]

And when it came to the transfer market, for example, how does that work in your role? What's your contribution to the different clubs? How far out will you work before the transfer window? On the next transfer window?

[Jurgen Klopp]

I understand my job more with a mid and long term effect, but the daily things don't destroy that idea, but make it like keep you busy. That's how it is. And transfer window, big transfer window for Leipzig, obviously. Was it 26 transfers in and out. I don't know what numbers is right. My third number is rough around it and I'm there with my experience as an advisor. I will do this, have a look at that, blah, blah, blah, these kind of things. So I get videos when they're 100% sure they don't have to show me a video or they're ready to take the player and that's it. But I was involved in a lot in Paris and Leipzig.

[Interviewer]

Would you be talking to agents, doing negotiating? That's all left to the club people. Got you. So it's more if they come to you and say, we've got this player.

[Jurgen Klopp]

Oh, I might talk to a player, I might talk to a player.

[Interviewer]

I think Bakayoko said you had a chat with him.

[Jurgen Klopp]

Yeah, exactly. He said that and other players I spoke to as well. So it's no problem because we have big dreams and ideas for the whole thing and we want to play exciting football. Definitely we offer a lot from the club's perspective in different countries, different continents. And the idea, the football idea behind it is really, is really cool. The opportunity we got from Red Bull is really cool. But the clubs are in completely different stages. So here yesterday we looked at the new training facility. It will be state of the art. And I never saw something like it. It's like crazy, really cool. Walked in, changed two things immediately. They love it, they love that.

[Interviewer]

Because obviously you've got all that experience in a head coach at trade as well.

[Jurgen Klopp]

Of course, I built three training grounds.

[Interviewer]

Well, that's what I was going to.

[Jurgen Klopp]

Say, but never that size. So I would have struggled with the amount of space available. But some things, it's just we don't have to go too much in detail, but you go in, you lift in something like it, you say, yeah, that's a great idea, but no, we're not ready for that yet. Football Soccer is not ready for that. Whatever these kind of things, it's little things, it's not big, it's easy to change. I don't say knock this department down.

[Interviewer]

But I guess is it things that maybe you'd see in other American sports that soccer's not quite ready yet, or.

[Jurgen Klopp]

Where they saw it? I don't know.

[Interviewer]

Go ahead.

[Jurgen Klopp]

That's not about that. It's just I know what works. And so. But the last thing I want to be is the old man in the room and says, in the past everything was, well, like that, but I'm not that long out yet. That's already my role and I hopefully will finish and stop before I reach that point. So I want to be the counterpart. I want to be the, if necessary, emergency call of the coaches, sporting directors. I want to be the guy they call when they don't know who to talk about these kind of things. For that, you need to create a relationship. The thing is, I always loved working with talent, with the young players, with all the players. I love that. No, I'm not that close to the players anymore, but my expertise is coaches, point directors, these kind of things. And you look at my career, so there are much more successful careers. But what I had, but I had it all. So I fought for promotion and failed. I fought again for promotion, failed. Fought promotion and succeeded. Stay in the league, stay in the league, got relegated, fought for promotion and failed. Tried to qualify for Europe and failed. Qualified for Europe, but knocked out in groups. They qualified for you and went to the final. I lost more Champions League than most people play. So I know how to lose and I know how that life goes on. So I'm an example for that. I'm a happy person. Even though I lost three Champions League finals, one European League final, it does sound great, but it's absolutely okay. So we tried it hard, right? All these kind of things. So won the Champions League, won the Premier League, won the German League cup, but won the German cup, won the English cup, all these kind of things. But here I am. I don't need it to keep it for myself. I never did. But I never had time to talk to people about it because there was the next game coming up. Now I have time. If somebody asks me something, I'm the most open book I know.

[Interviewer]

If you suppose, put yourself back in the shoes of a coach. Within football clubs at times there can be like little kingdoms where coaches, I think, can feel either lonely or feel as though they.

[Jurgen Klopp]

It is a very lonely job in the last moment of the decision. Everybody gives you good advice. Everybody has an idea. Everybody. Oh, you could do it like that. If you say that. Okay, then let's do it like. Because you said it. No, no, no, no. I just mentioned it. So like this decision making is not everybody's made for that. And it's fine. It's not no judgment. It's just like that.

[Interviewer]

But how do you make the coaches or the sporting director feel comfortable? As though you aren't someone who is watching them or monitoring them. And it's more. I'm here to support you if you need me.

[Jurgen Klopp]

We would see, that's not a finished article yet. Because the coaches were there when I arrived and we didn't sack them all as are we start from scratch or whatever. Yes, we had to do it now already twice. It's not great. It will never be my hobby, but it's things you have to do. But what I want to do, I want to hire coaches for the right reasons. And if we finish working together, then for the right reasons and not for the media ask for blah blah, blah. Nobody's as deep in as we are. Nobody's as close to the specific person as we are. So we can and have to do it for the right reasons. Both. We want to be the playing field for talent on each level. Like where people can develop. We are not the final destination. We are not Liverpool or in former times, Man United. You can write that if you want. Or maybe I'm not there because it's not our philosophy. It will not be like that. Because if we are really good, then there are other clubs who buy our players. So we start again.

[Interviewer]

But is that so different? Actually for most of your time at Liverpool you could make sense. It wasn't the final destiny.

[Jurgen Klopp]

Yeah, exactly. Most of the time in my career, actually it was always at a club where people bought the best players. Besides the last maybe four, five years that they were put. I'm not sure roughly after Phil nobody left. Yeah, but it was later. It was later on, but not for money reasons. Let me say that we couldn't keep them. So that explains a little bit. Probably. It makes what sense that Red Bull thought about me? Because if you want the living example that you still can be consistent, stable, even though they take players from you, that means on the same time to be more successful, to make the next step, keep the players another year or two. That makes sense. But it's not about me to decide that. But I'm in close contact to shareholders and all these kind of things. So we will see how we will do that in the future. But right now, that's what I want to say. The clubs are all in different stages. So Japan was a third league team and I joined, got promoted. Definitely not because of me. We just watched it and was really excited about it. Now there's a chance to get promoted, to get to the playoffs, whatever. We know that's difficult, but we changed the other manager. Now for the last eight games it's a third division club. Red Bull is there so quickly growing, but still a lot to do. And again, these kind of things. We are football operations wise involved in Paris. So that means there is a big project as well. Second division team now first division team, Ligue 1. And now we have to see. We try to strengthen the team. Not everybody thinks Red Bull and Arnold families, endless resources. Not at all these people. Nobody gets rich from spending. So it's just. You have to. You get a budget and you work with it. So that's how it is. And that means the budget, you increase the budget through player sales, you sell more, you have more these kind of things. And that was my life. So at the same time, over my whole career, I created kind of stability and I can explain to the sports people how to create stability, how to deal with different situations. I am different in the department and I want to instill this more trust, longer trust. Going through the hard times. When you are convinced, you are convinced. We don't go this direction, this direction, this direction. No, no, no. We are convinced, then we are convinced.

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[Interviewer]

Did you feel that at all when you joined in? The reaction that you got in some quarters from some of the fans in other clubs you've been at that feeling of you were so loved and then all of a sudden there's this real reaction, whether it's banners and things like that. Could you understand it?

[Jurgen Klopp]

Yeah. Yeah. I knew it.

[Interviewer]

You thought it would come.

[Jurgen Klopp]

Yeah. I'm German so I knew. I know what people in Germany think about the involvement of Red Bull in football. They love Red Bull. They do in all departments. But football, no. So that's their whatever. They want to do it their way. Funny enough, the reaction was only in Germany the reaction was like that. But that's fine and no problem. Everybody can think what they want. They just have to accept that I do what I want as long as I don't have hurt anybody, that's fine, it's no problem. And by the way, it's. I don't expect people to remember what I did for a specific club. The people in mines, in the stadium were there now and in the stands. They were little kids when I was there, so their parents had to tell them who I was. So that's how it is. It's absolutely fine. Really, no problem. I don't expect everybody to like what I do. I have to do it for the right reasons, for my right reasons and I do that. So that's absolutely fine. That was not a part of my decision making. And by the way, in Liverpool, for example, my last stuff, people are overly happy that I do what I do so that I don't coach another team or whatever.

[Interviewer]

I was also saying like if you were to do another coaching job after Liverpool, I'm trying to think of even. Is there a club you could have gone to where you wouldn't have had a reaction of some sort? Really?

[Jurgen Klopp]

Yeah. In fact, I think if I go to a foreign country again, to Italy or whatever, to Spain and people say, oh my God, it's great. So then I did. If I go to Bayern or whatever, then people would have seen, especially Dortmund would have said I don't like it. But again, I don't know 100%. So I'm now 58 years old. When I finished it over, I was 57. I was 100% certain and sure that I will not finish working at all. I had a break in seven months or so. Hey, June, July, August, September, October, November, December, eight, seven and a half months. Enjoyed it. Wow. Was great.

[Interviewer]

What did you do in that time?

[Jurgen Klopp]

Sports. To be honest, I lived life.

[Interviewer]

Would you be on a Saturday Sunday watching Premier League Bundesliga?

[Jurgen Klopp]

Not at all.

[Interviewer]

And did you feel a gap?

[Jurgen Klopp]

No, no. I was super happy with the way Liverpool performed. I watched games, but not like the oh, Saturday or plan on Thursday already. I will not be on Saturday. I didn't know when people in games started. I was just out. But I still had partners where I had to show up from time to time. But in general I did work, I did sports and we enjoyed grandkids. These kind of things, completely normal stuff. Knowing I will work again, knowing as well, I don't want to work as a coach anymore. So that means you say anymore.

[Interviewer]

Do you mean ever?

[Jurgen Klopp]

That's what I think. But you don't know. I'm 58. That's what I said. If I started going to be 65 and everybody told me you said it will never start, do it again. Sorry, I thought 100%. That's what I think now. I don't miss anything. So I watch training sessions. There's not a percentage inside my. I want to do that. I want to be there instead of sitting here. I watch training and leave 20 minutes before they're finished. Because I saw it, I don't have to see the last bit or whatever. I did it my whole life. It's crazy, but I don't miss it so. Because I'm still in football, so that's fine. And I still work in an environment I know about. But I learn every day, every day new things. And I didn't do that for a while. And to the extent I do it now.

[Interviewer]

When do you think that feeling? Because I imagine the decision wouldn't have been a sudden decision to stop coaching. It would have crept over time a little bit. Was it an infringement on free time?

[Jurgen Klopp]

On.

[Interviewer]

You were talking earlier about the choice, having that choice in your life, about, I can go and do this thing tomorrow if I want. But the calendar now is so congested that it makes it almost impossible to have that freedom.

[Jurgen Klopp]

That's true. It's funny, when I started coaching 2001, I told Ola, I will do that now. 25 years, full throttle, without looking left and right. Pretty close. And yeah, I know it's crazy, but it's exactly what 25 years, full throttle. Like this. I want to be as good as I can. We sat in the kitchen, it was like, so what happens if it doesn't work out? And it was that, oh, I can drive. Taxi. Okay, then we are safe. So go. Yeah, so take the risk. Blah, blah, blah. All these kind of things, man. That's what I did. But it was never. The thought was not, I will do that until the end of my life. It was not in my mind. We could have said it maybe, but didn't. Didn't think it, didn't say it. And I missed nothing in my life because I never thought about it. If I would have thought about what I could have done in that time, you would start missing. Oh, so I was in 25 years. I was twice on a wedding. One of them were mine and the other one is two months ago. The two weddings. I was in the last 25. Four times in a cinema. It was in the last eight weeks.

[Interviewer]

Four.

[Jurgen Klopp]

Four times. I did so many things. Not for ages because I couldn't do it and I didn't miss it in that moment. But it's not nice to do that. You'll be able to do it. So I was in so many different countries and saw nothing of it. I saw a hotel and I saw the stadium or the training ground. Nothing else. Absolutely nothing else. I wouldn't say it's now much more because we are here now in New York. I don't know how many times, but I'm in the same place. And now we walk because of Chad. Like we walk around. That's the moment when I see the most. Because otherwise we in the hotel drive here and go back again. So it's not different, but it just feels different. So it's free. I didn't miss it. Now I would miss it. Yeah.

[Interviewer]

Is there also, when you're in that Premier League where there is so much attention, scrutiny, every little thing is a drama can be portrayed as a drama. I can't imagine how Many on a Champions League week. How many times you're doing almost the same interview with different.

[Jurgen Klopp]

I can't imagine anymore. I don't want to go back to that. But it's a lot.

[Interviewer]

It can be 12 more more pre game. Two minutes after the whistle you're going and being asked about a decision in.

[Jurgen Klopp]

A week before you do the international media. And then I sit there and there's. In a room like that, there are four camera stations. You walk in and you sit here and you talk to the Italian, blah, blah, blah. You talk there to India tv, whatever they talk about. Always the same things. You go out there, it's like, wow. No, but it's never a problem. I tell you.

[Interviewer]

No, I don't mean it's a. But is there a point which the world starts to feel a bit small?

[Jurgen Klopp]

No, it doesn't sound. It is. Right. You can't imagine. It's a little bit like. If you think about who's your absolute movie star? I don't know. Do we have one absolute movie star?

[Interviewer]

I know I like Ben Stiller, but.

[Jurgen Klopp]

That could be a trouble. I don't know. They're great. Daniel great for me. So James Bond. So everything. Oh my God. Hey, James Bond. Where is he now? Stuff like this. And in the end he's like. Gets up in the morning, brushes teeth, hopefully. No, he does. And then whatever he's doing what he's doing. So he don't think about these little details. But then he goes out and he's on a film set. And a film set is not what we see later. Camera here, sitting there and you do the same scene 25 times. We don't think about these kind of things, but I had this life. So I know now how. Maybe not all of them, but I know how football managers live. Yeah, they live for the job. Yeah, that's how it is. You can. You cannot be successful in this business without doing it.

[Interviewer]

You can't be half him.

[Jurgen Klopp]

No, no. J. But for example, and I told Pep, which Pep G. So he improved his. His handicap probably for. But I didn't have a minute time to play golf. So he said that's why he's a genius and I'm not. So he broke this golf all the time and every year and oh my God, it's better. When do you play golf?

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[Interviewer]

One of the things that's been fascinating, I think over the last few months is just being some of the tactical changes. It feels as though they're really heavy possession style things there's a bit of a backlash now, maybe against that. A bit of a cycle is changing again. Do you think that's true? Is that fair? You know, I watch City now. It seems like they're happy to have less of the ball right for the first time.

[Jurgen Klopp]

That's interesting.

[Interviewer]

But in England, I mean, across Europe.

[Jurgen Klopp]

A lot of things change. Big teams play man marking, Bayern plays man marking. All the whole pitch, stuff like this, things change. I don't have an opinion about that in the moment. The football I watch is mainly Red Bull team. So latest on Tuesday I saw the games on our teams and I have few. So did I sit there and have a look on what is football? How is it developing right now? That's not really what I'm doing. City is on the way back to where they are. They change a little bit. Managers need that as well sometimes a new way of looking at it. Things like to keep it fresh, all these kind of things. I think most teams are happy with doing what they're doing, just better like these kind of things. Liverpool is playing a specific style. Really, really, really, really good. Very offensive, Very offensive. Orient the risk of a little bit. Sometimes be a bit exposed. Let me say it like that. Different ways to roam, let me say like that. And in the end, I'm not the Pope of football and tell people what to do. At least not outside the Red Bull world. In the Red Bull world, I can do that.

[Interviewer]

I want to ask you a little bit about soccer in America and how you see that the Club World cup. Did your opinion change during it?

[Jurgen Klopp]

No. Now, did I read this morning that Chelsea has an injury crisis?

[Interviewer]

You did. I'm sure you did.

[Jurgen Klopp]

Yeah. No, I read it.

[Interviewer]

But is it true they've got some injuries?

[Jurgen Klopp]

Yeah, Paris injuries. Everybody has injuries. Everybody have had injuries. It's completely normal stuff like this. My opinion about Club World cup is not important. The thing is not my expertise Club World cup. My expertise is on the things I know about is how much you can expect from football players. I don't even know about human beings because I was in a football environment. But how much can you expect from football players? I don't doubt that it was a great tournament. It was. Or maybe not. I didn't watch it, but probably it was and Chelsea was super happy to win it. Great. But at one point we have to take care again of the few people this game wouldn't exist without them as the players. And actually the best players play all the time. And then some people say, yeah, then rotate. Oh, yeah, you Pay a ticket for looking Chelsea against psg, whatever. And then you don't see them. Baylor, you don't see Cole Palmer, you don't see Bam, Bam, Bam, X, Y and Z.

[Interviewer]

Or good luck telling Mo Sally. You're rotating, right?

[Jurgen Klopp]

Yeah, exactly. That's the end. But Moon can play all the time, so probably the only one. But all the others need a break. Just Moore doesn't need a break. So. And that's exactly how it is. So there's no solution besides stop organizing new tournaments in the summer break. So there's no break anymore for these players, for the best players in the world. You wouldn't do that in any other part of life. You put not the best artist out every night until. And now it happened. Now he fell down. Hey, sorry. He lost focus.

[Interviewer]

They talk about 64 teams even possibly for 20, 31.

[Jurgen Klopp]

I heard about it. I didn't even want to start things, honestly. I just saw the number and thought, oh, no, I don't get into that. So look, whatever I say always. It's like I could tell it my microwave. It's exactly the same effect. Besides, nobody publicly speaks about me talking to my microwave. But. So that's where people then say, yeah, but he earned a lot of money. Yeah, I know that. I know that. And then club officials say, yeah, it's all players and coaches. They earn always more. They want always more. But we need to gain money. You sit all together on the table and you tell the players, you have eight big holiday here. So let. Can we talk? Give it a try. Would they say yes here, take the million or whatever. Would they say? I'm pretty positive.

[Interviewer]

You think the players would compromise on that?

[Jurgen Klopp]

I don't know. But it's like if you would have talked to me and it was definitely.

[Interviewer]

But they're scared of talking to them on.

[Adam Krafton]

They seem.

[Interviewer]

It's like they're scared to start a conversation with players.

[Jurgen Klopp]

Oh, there was horrendous. The players who spoke out got injured the next day. Like Rodri, when he spoke out about the next day, it was like, that was not Kevin de Bruyne the same.

[Interviewer]

But there were some players who was Varane, I think.

[Jurgen Klopp]

Oh, yeah. So like. Oh, yeah. Oh, don't do. But I don't know. There's no real solution. But if you don't talk about it, they will definitely not stop it. They enjoy so much being involved in that and having an idea. They just forget the players. Nobody thinks about them. And the PFA is pretty strong in it. I'm so. I'M not the only one. Just probably the most famous voice sometimes it used to be you cannot not talk about just because it's uncomfortable and people don't want to hear it. If you don't want to hear it, don't listen. But it's still the problem is still there.

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[Jurgen Klopp]

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[Interviewer]

You obviously work with a team. Now in Germany, if you look trying to sign a player and I don't know. Ormouth, West Ham, Everton maybe is your competition. Maybe that's a little bit lower in the table.

[Jurgen Klopp]

Bournemouth, you have no chance.

[Interviewer]

If Bournemouth goes for it, you have no chance.

[Jurgen Klopp]

No, well, no, there's no chance. By the way, they're doing ridiculously good. That's crazy. Like Crystal palace and Bournemouth are like, I'm not too deep into it. It's. But sold, sold. Sold for lost.

[Interviewer]

They lost the whole defense.

[Jurgen Klopp]

Yeah, yeah. And they go again. Wow. Ayola is doing. And last night they're doing by miracles.

[Interviewer]

When we talk about the growth of soccer in the United States, when you look at the New York Red Bulls and MLS and the standard for quality, where do you see that?

[Jurgen Klopp]

In my whole life I never watched as much MLS as I did in the last month, obviously. And quality is constantly increasing, getting better and better and better and better. But we are still in an introduction phase. So we introduced the game still to a massive, massive country. So that why these big names help a lot you in a moment. It's difficult to fill a stadium with the style of play. Say oh my God, that's cool. Because you can play exceptional football. Still only one nil. So theoretically. And you miss a lot of chances and stuff like this. But the atmosphere we have in the stadium, for example, I see them it mostly on the iPad, on television, because I'm not here that often, but feels really good, really good. I like it. It's like enthusiastic, it's loud, all these kind of things. So. And again. And there's an historical development in the European countries where it's just you grow up and then you stick to your club, even though you can't enjoy the games anymore. So you will not have that here probably for a. For a foreseeable time. I love football, soccer, so I love it. So I see that other people will fall in love with that game as well. More and more and more and more. We have a couple of problems in usa. I'm the new one, so I'm not the one who says I change it. It's my personality. I just observe and see. That could be a problem.

[Interviewer]

The style of play, if you were to describe it, the basic principles that Red Bull.

[Jurgen Klopp]

Yeah, the Style of play is massively influenced by the philosophy of the clubs. So people think about Red Bull and think then they just throw money at it. It's not at all what the Red Bull offers is infrastructure. So build a training ground, you can see that creates an incredible environment. And then go for it. And then you earn money with being a club in mls, being a club in Germany, whatever. You get money from TV stations, stuff like this. But then the more money you want to spend, you better produce by yourself. So you have a talented team, you develop that if Leipzig becomes second or even champion, probably after that scene, you would sell five players and then you can go again. Great. So. And it works out. Worked out for a long time. And now that didn't work out for a year, maybe one year.

[Interviewer]

Yes.

[Jurgen Klopp]

So we start again. We are the youngest team in the Bundesliga now. Again, super talented, these kind of things. It's good fun. I love it. So Red Bull Football 1.0, how they called it was against the ball per organized and you kill the other team. And then all of a sudden they got better, better, better, more successful. And all of a sudden they face constantly teams with a no block. And I say, well, I don't know what to do with that. So that was a criticism from outside. Yeah, adds a little bit the way my teams played football is a perfect fit for that. Because if you look through my career, what people was stable at least. Even though we were not from the beginning firing on all cylinders. We were there and we were difficult to play against stuff like this. This is not based on Red Bull side. It was more or less the same start at the same time, but it was my situation. That's why how I did it. So now I'm on top of that. And that's what we want to do. That's what we want to play. We want to be recognizable. There must be a way that people. We cannot be just another club in a different league, in a different country. We are energy. We can talk whatever we want. But I know it was a marketing idea in the beginning, but that's not something I have to think about. I'm responsible for the football part. And you can forget where you're coming from. And that means we are energy and we have to show energy and we have to be different and we have to be younger. We have to all these kind of things and we will be.

[Interviewer]

Is there any cross pollination with the F1 team and the other sports? Do you. What do you. Did you take any learnings?

[Jurgen Klopp]

Not yet. Okay.

[Interviewer]

Would you like to.

[Jurgen Klopp]

I watch. I. Yeah, of course. I. I watched one Formula One race live so in Spielberg and they kicked out first album after 30 seconds.

[Interviewer]

You're banned now from going to another one.

[Jurgen Klopp]

I didn't, I didn't ask. I didn't ask. So I would love to have this cross bow meeting stuff like this but I can show you my schedule. It's pretty busy with all the things I have to do and that's the blessing of my life. I always love the things I have to do. So that is really cool and that's why we will see it's all going in the right direction. I would say. I'm really happy with the transfers we made at Leipzig and in general the business we made there is like changing the team after a while what you have to do and it's now we try to do that step by step with our clubs in Idle world at one point I just watched the games and can't believe how much fun I had watching it. And then everything is set up and then we can go from there. But there's some work to do and that's what I'm here for.

[Podcast Host (Ayo Akimwalerik)]

That was Jurgen Klopp in conversation with Adam Krafton. To read Adam's article in full, head to the Athletic right now. Thank you so much for listening. Will be back on Monday.

[Verizon Customer]

You've been listening to the Athletic FC podcast. The producers are Guy Clark, Mike Stabru and Jay Beale. Executive producers are Abby Patterson and Avi Moorhead. To listen to other great athletic podcasts for free, including our dedicated club shows, search for the Athletic on Apple, Spotify and all the usual places. You'll also find us on YouTube at the Athletic FC Podcast, so make sure you subscribe. The Athletic FC Podcast podcast is an athletic media company production.

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You look the same.

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Especially me. You haven't changed your hair in 15 years. Sell these. Check please.

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