Jurgen Klopp appointed Germany boss in return to management | OneFootball

Jurgen Klopp will make his return to management for the first time since leaving Liverpool as the new head coach of the Germany national team, it has been confirmed.

Klopp cited fatigue when he left Liverpool in 2024 but said he is now “recharged”. The 59-year-old has been appointed in the aftermath of Germany’s disappointing World Cup campaign, which saw them exit at the last-32 stage following a penalty shootout defeat to Paraguay.

Given the manner of their exit, former coach Julian Nagelsmann was asked to resign by the German football association DFB who then pursued talks with Klopp to become the next head coach.

“The national team brings us Germans together like almost nothing else can. That's what makes this task so special for me,” Klopp said at his unveiling in Frankfurt on Friday morning.

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Jurgen Klopp during a press conference with DFB President Bernd Neuendorf and Vice President Hans-Joachim Watzke (Reuters)

The DFB announced that Klopp had reached “an agreement on the key points” of a deal to take over the national team on Saturday 11 July, following talks in New York, with a four-year contract up to the 2030 World Cup now signed.

Klopp managed Liverpool for nine years taking charge in October 2015 before departing at the end of the 2024 season having won both the Premier League and Champions League with the Reds

His most recent role was as Red Bull's Head of Global Soccer, a position he held since January 2025, overseeing Red Bull's network of clubs—including RB Leipzig, Red Bull Salzburg, and the New York Red Bulls.

Most recently he has been working as a pundit during the World Cup in the USA, Mexico and Canada and created headlines by suggesting that Deniz Undav should start ahead of Jamal Musiala and then saying that “Julian Nagelsmann is still picking the team – for now.”

Klopp was called out over the “for now” comment by former German players and apologised saying he felt like “punching himself in the face”.

Following these incidents and ahead of Nagelsmann’s resignation, the 59-year-old played coy about the prospect of replacing him by saying: “I understand that when the national coach position is discussed, my name is mentioned in some form but it's not the moment to really talk about it.”

Klopp’s national team ambitions were well known during the World Cup and his contract with Red Bull included a special exit clause designed specifically so that he could take on the Germany job should it become available.

Meanwhile, Klopp’s long-time managerial rival Pep Guardiola has turned down the chance to coach Italy.

The former Manchester City manager had been in talks with the Italian Football Federation over the role.

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Pep Guardiola is out of work after leaving Manchester City (PA Wire)

But the 55-year-old informed Italy on Thursday night that he would not be taking the job due to “personal reasons that go beyond football”, Sky Italy reported.

Guardiola said before his City exit that he wasn’t planning on taking a new job “for a while”, citing a lack of “energy” - just as his Klopp said when he departed Liverpool.

Italian football federation president Giovanni Malago confirmed talks with Guardiola were underway this week. He added that “exceptions” could be made in terms of salary.

Gennaro Gattuso resigned as Italy head coach in April after the four-time world champions failed to qualify for a third World Cup in a row.