Mainz supporters slam Jurgen Klopp with damning banners for taking job with Red Bull group
Klopp has been named Red Bull's head of global soccer
Supporters of Jurgen Klopp’s former club, Mainz, have expressed their disapproval of the legendary Liverpool manager’s decision to join the Red Bull group.
Klopp, who departed Anfield in May after a remarkable nine-year stint with the Reds, was announced last week as the new head of global soccer for the Red Bull group.
He is set to begin his role on January 1, 2025.
However, the move has sparked significant backlash in his native Germany, particularly among the fanbases of his former Bundesliga clubs, Mainz and Borussia Dortmund.
Klopp managed Mainz for seven years from 2001 to 2008 and later spent another seven years at Dortmund between 2008 and 2015.
Both sets of supporters have taken issue with his decision to work for Red Bull, a company that owns several football clubs, including RB Leipzig, a club unpopular among many traditional German football fans.
Before Mainz’s Bundesliga match against RB Leipzig on Saturday, the home supporters unfurled a banner criticizing Klopp’s decision to join the Red Bull organization, particularly given that their opponents were owned by the same group.
The message, translated from German, condemned Klopp for aligning himself with a football ownership model that has been widely controversial in Germany.
“Have you forgotten everything we made you become? Are you crazy?” read the banner.
Further down the stand, another message referenced what is believed to be a past quote from Klopp himself.
It read: “I like people up to the point where they disappoint me.”
Speaking about his decision to take up the post, Klopp said: “After almost 25 years on the sideline, I could not be more excited to get involved in a project like this.
“The role may have changed but my passion for football and the people who make the game what it is has not. By joining Red Bull at a global level, I want to develop, improve and support the incredible football talent that we have at our disposal.
“There are many ways that we can do this front using the elite knowledge and experience that Red Bull possesses to learning from other sports and other industries.
“Together we can discover what is possible. I see my role primarily as a mentor for the coaches and management of the Red Bull clubs but ultimately, I am one part of an organisation that is unique, innovative and forward looking.
“As I said, this could not excite me more.”
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