​Jurgen Klopp is close to taking over as the head coach of Germany’s men’s national team, with an in-principle agreement reportedly reached. The former Liverpool boss met with senior officials from the German Football Association (DFB) in New York on Friday to discuss the role. Although talks will continue next week and an agreement with Klopp’s current employer, Red Bull, where he has served as head of global football since January 2025, has yet to be finalized, it appears increasingly likely that Klopp will succeed Julian Nagelsmann, who resigned after Germany’s disappointing early exit from the World Cup.
In a statement, the DFB said that DFB President Bernd Neuendorf and DFB Vice President Hans-Joachim Watzke held their first in-depth discussions with Klopp in New York regarding his potential appointment as national team coach. The statement noted that during the constructive exchange, they reached agreement on the key points of a potential contract and that talks would continue next week. Both sides remain confident that negotiations, contingent on securing an agreement with Klopp’s current employer, Red Bull, can be successfully concluded.
It is anticipated that Klopp would sign a four-year contract, marking his first coaching role since leaving Liverpool in the summer of 2024 and his first position in international football. The prospect of Klopp guiding Germany has offered fans a glimmer of hope after a difficult period. During the World Cup, Klopp has served as a pundit for German television and has repeatedly been linked with a return to club management, with Real Madrid among the clubs mentioned in March; Klopp has dismissed such links as “all nonsense.”
Klopp’s achievements with Liverpool are substantial: seven major honours, including the 2019-20 Premier League title and the Champions League in 2019. Prior to his time in England, he led Borussia Dortmund to two German Bundesliga titles between 2008 and 2015 and also spent seven years at Mainz 05, the club where he spent the vast majority of his playing career. The connection between Klopp and Watzke—Watzke having served as Dortmund’s chief executive from 2005 until his resignation last year—has long been viewed as a crucial factor in the rapid pace of negotiations for one of world football’s most coveted coaches as Germany seeks to rebound from a poor World Cup showing.
Germany’s campaign this summer ended in the Round of 32 after a penalty shootout defeat to Paraguay, continuing a pattern of struggle in major tournaments since their 2014 World Cup triumph under Joachim Low. While Hansi Flick led the team in the 2022 World Cup, they failed to get beyond the group stage. Nagelsmann took over in September 2023, initially through Euro 2024, which Germany hosted, advancing to the quarter-finals before losing in extra time to eventual champions Spain. Nagelsmann’s contract was later extended through the World Cup and through Euro 2028, but he stepped down after his nation’s latest setback. As negotiations with Klopp proceed, Germany’s football leadership remains hopeful that the former Borussia Dortmund and Mainz 05 coach can provide the leadership and rejuvenation the national team seeks to restore its standing on the international stage.