Red Bull CEO Oliver Mintzlaff makes Jurgen Klopp claim after Liverpool exit
Jurgen Klopp starts his first job after leaving Liverpool on New Years' Day
Red Bull CEO Oliver Mintzlaff has stated that convincing Jurgen Klopp to take on his first job since leaving Liverpool was the easiest negotiation of his life.
However, it has now been revealed that discussions began long before Klopp’s departure from Anfield.
Time has flown by since the 57-year-old announced his exit from Liverpool almost 12 months ago.
His tenure at the club culminated in a Carabao Cup victory at Wembley and an emotional farewell on the final day of the 2023/24 season, as the Reds bid goodbye to a living legend after nine years in charge.
Months later, Klopp was confirmed to be returning to football, but in a completely new role.
He would step away from the touchline to serve as Red Bull’s global head of soccer.”
“Over the last 20 years, I have experienced, helped shape and negotiated many negotiations in football. I have to say that when he got the yes, it was the easiest,” fellow German Oliver Mintzlaff has told BILD.
“I hope he doesn’t hear that now, because then he’ll think that he and his advisor negotiated poorly,” he joked.
“But no, financially it took 20 seconds.
“When the ‘yes’ was there, it was one of the easiest negotiations I’ve conducted in 20 years.”
Mintzlaff added: “It took a long time. It was a very, very long process.
“The first idea was more than two years ago, when I first spoke to Jurgen about it.
“He said: ‘I think that’s great, I think that’s impressive.’ Not just what’s happening in football, but also the sports Red Bull is involved in, how much is being done for young talent.
“That always interested him and excited him. So we always kept in touch and I didn’t let up.
“But at some point he told me that, ‘I was extending my stay in Liverpool’, and that was of course a disappointment for me because that little door was then closed.
“When he announced his departure, we met at his place in Liverpool a few months later and I started again with my topic and told him a lot of things, where I think we could use him and that it would be an exciting task for him.
“And then he said: ‘All right, let’s do it.’ I had to slap myself in the face. Then he agreed and I quickly drew up the contracts.”
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