Jurgen Klopp breaks silence after being named 'top target' for next job after Liverpool exit

Liverpool legend Jurgen Klopp has finally broken his silence after rumours began circulating that he could be set to make his return to management in the near future.

Klopp left the Merseyside club in May, having announced in January that he would be taking time to rest away from football at the end of the 2023/24 season.

But just four months after leaving Liverpool, reports confirmed that Klopp had become the number one target to succeed Julien Nagelsmann as manager of the German national team.

And now, the 57-year-old has finally broken his silence regarding the rumours and offered his view on taking the German national team job.

While he was being awarded the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany in Berlin, Klopp addressed the rumours.

“Everyone is hoping that Julian Nagelsmann will continue for much, much longer than 2026," he said via Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.

"I would be reluctant to talk about football today because there is nothing to say."

The rumours appear to have started after Rudi Voller, the director of the German national team, named Klopp as the ideal replacement for Nagelsmann if the current Germany manager decided he wanted to return to club management.

Voller said: "I don't know what Jurgen would like to do again.

"But if Julian Nagelsmann were to decide at some point that he would rather coach a top club in Europe or Germany again of course, then there is no way around Jürgen Klopp if he wants to."

Reacting directly to Voller's comments, Klopp added: "Rudi Voller is a very nice guy. He was put in the situation where he had to talk about it."

Jurgen Klopp left Liverpool in May after nine years at the club. (Image: Getty)

In September 2023, Nagelsmann was appointed as the new head coach of the Germany national team, replacing Hansi Flick.

Six months earlier, the 37-year-old was sacked by former club Bayern Munich and was replaced by former Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel.

Nagelsmann led Germany for the 2024 European Championships, which the nation hosted, and took them to the final where they were controversially knocked out by Spain, who later went on to win the tournament.