Klopp: “Intensive discussions will be needed” – the timing is better than ever

Interest in Nagelsmann’s successor

This article appeared on (Site notre blog d’information) in its first version at 1:02 p.m. and was then supplemented by Jürgen Klopp’s statements in the new second and third paragraphs.

What started about two weeks ago with the oft-quoted « Yet » statement during « Magenta TV’s » coverage of the World Cup is finally gaining momentum: the DFB has officially announced that Jürgen Klopp is the preferred candidate to succeed Julian Nagelsmann as head of the national team. If all goes well, the 59-year-old will be out for Germany in the Nations League opener against the Netherlands in September – but before that, the association still has one or two tasks to complete.

Updated at 11:37 p.m.: Klopp confirmed the discussions with the DFB and made it known on « MagentaTV » that his signing would not be a guaranteed success: « Julian has resigned and the DFB is studying a succession plan and contacted me following these reflections that they were thinking about, » he said. « It will take intensive discussions because, of course, the problems we are having now are not related to the personality of Julian Nagelsmann. Julian is an exceptional coach, and he will be able to prove it many times in his coaching life. That’s why you just have to wait and see the conversations in a certain way. They are conversations and of course I also have to have the other conversations with my employer, with Oliver Mintzlaff. Because I know that German (Site notre bureau spécialisé) is also close to his heart and he is so very open to these conversations. But we still have to manage them.

Despite some open questions, Klopp is optimistic and sees no major obstacles: « It is difficult to anticipate the conversations, but of course we have already discussed things and I don’t assume that. Ideally, in the end there will only be winners after a story like this. Whether you just say, okay, Red Bull must be able to come out of the situation cleanly. I have been here for 19 months, the public is perhaps still wondering today what exactly he’s doing there. But it was a very intense time. Even now, it’s not the best time to become national coach because he’s still tied. « What does he think it will take to find a deal? The fact is that I have an existing contract with Red Bull. I have said many times how much I love doing this work. As a person I am such that I am generally very happy to keep contracts. But I also said that I’m interested in the discussions, because of course they have to take place first. »

Because even though Klopp, according to the association’s announcement, has signaled his willingness to take over the office, he is currently still an employee of Red Bull GmbH. As “head of world (Site notre bureau spécialisé)”, the former coach is under contract there until the end of 2029, and in recent weeks, conflicting information has circulated about a possible exit clause. According to current information from “Bild”, this is not anchored in the working document of the Stuttgart native. So, in the event of a request from the DFB, the company will charge a transfer fee in the single-digit million range. This would be the first time the association would pay a transfer fee for a national coach.

According to reports, it will soon be clear whether this is actually happening: According to the newspaper, the DFB is pushing for the national coaching staff to be clarified by the beginning of August at the latest. Ideally, Klopp should then be able to hit the ground running, build his coaching staff and create the necessary structures well in advance for international matches scheduled for early autumn.

« Regarding the replacement of the coaching position, the DFB management will now seek discussions with Jürgen Klopp. He has already demonstrated his fundamental desire to occupy the position, » the association announced on Friday afternoon. In addition to possible transfer fees, the DFB will also have to dig deep into Klopp’s pockets when it comes to salary.

According to a report from ‘Kicker’, the former BVB and Liverpool coach currently earns an annual salary of 10 million euros at Red Bull. A sum of this magnitude would be new for a national coach. According to consistent reports, Nagelsmann’s salary is 7 million euros per year, world champion coach Joachim Löw would have earned up to 4 million euros and his successor Hansi Flick would have earned only slightly less than Nagelsmann last time.

It remains to be seen how much the DFB will ultimately invest in the new start and is unlikely to be part of the official announcement of Nagelsmann’s successor. The chance of his name not being Klopp is now reduced to the lowest possible level. It is not unlikely that the successful coach will soon set a new trend on television – given the situation, the moderation team of « Magenta TV » is probably already preparing to ask its in-house expert the most important questions within the framework of the World Cup coverage.