Until the day German manager legend Jürgen Klopp is back as manager, there will be speculation about exactly that.
talkSPORT reports that Jürgen Klopp is the “dream” target for Saudi Arabian side Al-Ittihad as their new manager.
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Left Liverpool in the summer of 2024.
Klopps is one of the best managers in the world, he’s definitely one of the best in the world who doesn’t work as a manager. He resurrected Liverpool, won the Premier League and they came close to winning several titles close behind Manchester City.
They won the Champions League, as well as every other trophy available, including the Club World Cup and the UEFA Super Cup.
The former Borussia Dortmund boss is currently the Global Head of Soccer for Red Bull. But Al-Ittihad would like to convince him to return to the managerial role.
talkSPORT’s Ben Jacobs reports that the club have a genuine interest in trying to hire Klopp. They are looking for a new manager after Francisco Conceição left the club.
Nevertheless, the club’s deal-makers believe that it will be almost impossible to sign Klopp. Adding to the difficulty is Al-Ittihad’s financial situation – only support from Saudi Arabia’s finance ministry can help finance a deal for Klopp.
The German’s agent, Marc Kosicke, has also released a short statement.
He said: “There is NO possibility of Klopp managing Al-Ittihad this year.”
Will Klopp ever return to the managerial profession?
After Klopp’s departure from Liverpool, he has been linked with a number of vacancies at Europe’s elite clubs.
Earlier this year, after Xabi Alonso was sacked at Real Madrid, Klopp was rumoured to be a replacement for the Spaniard at the Bernabéu. In the end, there was never a deal, and José Mourinho is now ready to return for another term after a short stay in Portugal with Benfica.
But when asked to manage Real Madrid, Klopp made it clear that he is not done with the managerial profession yet.
“If Real Madrid had called, we would have heard about it by now,” he said.
“But all that is nonsense. They have not called once – not once. My agent is there, you can ask him. They haven’t called him either.”
“Right now, I’m not thinking about it. Fortunately, there is no reason for that.”
“For my age, I’m pretty far along in life, but as a coach I’m not quite done. I have not reached retirement age.”
“Who knows what will happen in the years to come? But nothing is planned.”
Still, any Premier League fan hoping that Klopp will one day show up must brace themselves for disappointment. After nine years at Liverpool and a number of trophies, he swore that he would never manage another team in England.
“What I know for sure is that I will never, ever, ever manage a club in England other than Liverpool – one hundred percent. It’s not possible,” Klopp said.
A return to Anfield, on the other hand, is not out of the question
In an interview in October 2025, Klopp said: “I said I will never coach another team in England, so if I were to come back, it would have to be Liverpool. So theoretically, it’s possible.”
“I don’t even know for sure. I love what I’m doing now. I don’t miss the coaching profession. I don’t. I do train, but it’s different – it’s not with players.”
“I don’t miss standing in the rain for two and a half or three hours. I also don’t miss going to press conferences three times a week.”
“Having ten or twelve interviews a week – I don’t miss that. I don’t miss being in the locker room. I’ve coached around 1080 games, so I’ve been in the dressing room very, very many times.”
“I don’t want to die in the locker room. It’s that kind of thing. I am 58 years old. From your perspective, it may sound old, but from other perspectives, it’s not that old.”
“That means I could make a decision in a few years. I don’t know. Do I have to make a decision today? I won’t be training again, but luckily I don’t have to decide now. I can only see what the future holds.”
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