Jurgen Klopp Explains Refusal To Attend F1 Races Despite Working For Red Bull
The former Liverpool manager now holds a senior strategic football role with the energy drinks giant
Jurgen Klopp left Liverpool as a legend in the summer of 2024 and his next job was a surprising one for fans who expected him to take a longer period away from the game.
Liverpool won the Premier League again in their first season under Arne Slot while Klopp was appointed to a senior strategic role overseeing the global football operations of Red Bull, which owns a stable of clubs all over the world including RB Leipzig, Red Bull Salzburg and Major League Soccer's New York Red Bulls.
Despite having the access to enjoy any and all of Red Bull's mammoth sporting involvements, Klopp has stuck primarily to football and does not attend Formula 1 events.
Red Bull has two teams in F1 but Klopp has revealed the surprising reason he stays away.
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"I watched one F1 race and they kicked out Max Verstappen after 30 seconds," Klopp said in an interview with The Athletic.
The German told Adam Crafton that he hasn't asked to go back for another grand prix.
After managing Bundesliga sides Mainz and Borussia Dortmund, Klopp spent nine years at Anfield and led the Reds back to the top of the Premier League pile.
He left Merseyside in 2024 and joined Red Bull as its global head of soccer in January this year.
Klopp faced a minor backlash from former admirers for joining the Red Bull multi-club ownership group but brushed it off in his latest interview.
"I’m German," he said. "I know what people in Germany think about the involvement of Red Bull in football. They love Red Bull. In all departments. But in football? No. So whatever, they want to do it that way.
"Funnily enough, it was only in Germany where the reaction was like that. But that’s fine – no problem. Everybody can think what they want. You just have to accept that I do what I want as long as I don’t hurt anybody."
Klopp's role at Red Bull
Klopp claims not to miss the day-to-day rigour of football club management and that the bulk of his football is now experienced inside the Red Bull bubble.
"I lost more Champions League finals than most people play," said Klopp.
"I know how to lose and how life goes on. I don’t need to keep my experience for myself. I never did, but I just never had time to talk to people about it because it was the next game coming up."
Topics: Football, Jurgen Klopp
Chris Nee