Jurgen Klopp has ruled out a return to coaching in the near future, including for the vacant England job, stating on Wednesday, “as of today, that’s it for me as a coach.” Speaking at a German Football Coaches Association meeting in Wuerzburg, the former Liverpool and Borussia Dortmund mentor clarified, “I didn’t decide to stop on a whim, it was a general decision.” Klopp stepped down as Liverpool boss at the end of the 2023-24 season, citing exhaustion after 23 years in club management. The 57-year-old was quickly linked to several vacant positions, including the England coaching job after Gareth Southgate resigned following England’s loss in the Euro 2024 final in Berlin.
“I’m looking for peace and quiet. I’m one hundred percent in the here and now, and I’m enjoying it. It was just time to step aside and put the whole thing to rest,” Klopp said, adding that making a special exception for a club or country “would be a great loss of face.”
Klopp mentioned he was enjoying retirement but would work in football again at some point, even if his days in the dugout were over. “I’m too young to just play padel tennis and spend time with my grandchildren. Will I be a coach again? I would actually rule that out at the moment. Let’s see how it looks in a few months. At the moment, there’s nothing in the pipeline. We can perhaps talk about it again in a few months. I still want to work in football and help people with my experience and contacts. Let’s see what else there is for me,” said Klopp, adding he had “already coached the best clubs in the world.”
Klopp played 325 games for Mainz before becoming the coach in 2001. He moved to Dortmund in 2008, winning two league titles and taking the club to the 2013 Champions League final before signing with Liverpool in 2015. At Liverpool, Klopp ended the Reds’ 30-year wait for the Premier League title, took the club to three Champions League finals, winning one, and delivered an FA Cup, two League Cups, and a UEFA Super Cup.
The coach joked that anyone linking him with a return to coaching had not been paying attention. “At the moment, there’s nothing job-wise. No club, no country. A few people must not have heard that part.”
