Jurgen Klopp’s Legacy and Future: A Shift from Club Management to Strategic Leadership

Jurgen Klopp’s nearly nine-year tenure at Liverpool has significantly reshaped the club’s modern identity. He transformed the Reds into consistent challengers at the highest levels of football, culminating in the 2020 Premier League title that ended a 30-year wait for domestic supremacy. By the time he departed at the end of the 2023–24 season, Klopp had secured every major honor available and reinstated Liverpool’s status among Europe’s elite.

Despite having a contract that still had two years remaining, Klopp opted to leave on his own terms. This decision was not driven by performance but rather by exhaustion. In his farewell address, he candidly acknowledged the role’s demands had finally taken their toll. Since his departure from Liverpool, Klopp has assumed a senior strategic position with the Red Bull group as their global head of soccer, overseeing a network of clubs rather than focusing solely on match-to-match outcomes.

John Arne Riise believes that if Klopp chooses to return to management, it will likely be in a national team capacity, with England emerging as a particularly appealing option. In an interview with Casinostugan, he stated, “If he does come back, I think he’ll come back as a national team manager somewhere. I don’t think he’s going to be a manager for a club. I think he would love the England job at one stage. But I see him as a national team manager because that’s not as intense as being a club manager.”

While acknowledging that Klopp’s legacy at both Borussia Dortmund and Liverpool is already secured, Riise suggested that the relentless nature of club football may no longer hold the same allure for him. “Jurgen Klopp loves life, he loves what he’s doing, he has a passion for whatever he’s doing,” he added. “I would love to see him back, obviously, because of the energy and who he is, but at the same time, his legacy now is high. He’s done so well for Dortmund and Liverpool, and I can’t see that he can do even better at another club. So he might just be happy that ‘I’m there now and I did what I did’ and pursue other interests. Regardless, I do believe his role at Liverpool took a significant toll on him; he was mentally and physically drained because he devoted all his energy to that position.”

Currently, Klopp appears in no rush to test Riise’s theory. Although he has been linked with European powerhouses like Real Madrid, he has consistently indicated satisfaction with his current lifestyle. His new role has provided him with a buffer from the relentless intensity of weekly competition, yet he has not entirely ruled out a return to coaching.

He remarked on The Diary of a CEO podcast, “I said I will never coach another team, a different team, in England. So that means if then it’s Liverpool, yeah, theoretically it’s possible.”

However, in contrast to many of his contemporaries, Klopp does not view management as the primary focus of his existence. He has openly discussed how the demands of the job consumed his personal life, disrupting the balance he now cherishes. In an interview with the German outlet Welt, Klopp reflected on the tunnel vision that characterized his career, saying, “I was in a tunnel, but never with myself. Now I pay more attention to myself. As silly as it sounds, I stopped doing what I always wanted to do. But it took me too far away from normal life – and ultimately, I no longer had a normal life. Whatever normal life is: my car knew three ways – to the stadium, to the training ground, and home. Frustratingly, while I had many visitors in Liverpool, I hardly had time for them. In the last four months, I’ve been to two weddings – before that, none in 23 years.”

“But I don’t want that [management] anymore. I have a job now that fulfills me and is also intense. I don’t sleep in the morning and I don’t go to bed later at night, but I can organize my work much better. My wife, for example, is really happy with it because we can plan things much better that we couldn’t before.”

Klopp’s name is bound to surface whenever a prestigious management position opens up, such as the England manager role—currently held by Thomas Tuchel until the conclusion of the 2026 World Cup. His charisma, tactical expertise, and ability to connect with players make him a compelling candidate in theory. However, his own statements suggest that any potential return to coaching would necessitate extraordinary circumstances. For now, Klopp appears at peace, shaping the football landscape from a distance rather than being ensnared in its immediate challenges.