Worse than Red Bull: Klopp slams 'impossible' Chelsea transfers

Tom Weber

Updated: 1 Nov 2024 14:28 GMT
4 min read

Todd Boehly, Behdad Eghbali, Jurgen Klopp, Chelsea — © IMAGO

Toni Kroos believes that it would have been worse for Jurgen Klopp to join Chelsea over Red Bull - and the German seems to agree.

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The former Liverpool manager will start in his new role as Head of Global Soccer at Red Bull on January 1, 2025. Klopp's decision caused outrage, particularly in Germany, but the 57-year-old explained this surprising career move on Toni Kroos' podcast Einfach mal Luppen earlier this week.

Klopp described the opportunity to work for the energy drinks giant as "outstanding" because his advisory role will allow him to keep working in football without having to stand on the sidelines.

"First of all, you can't make decisions based on the reactions you will get," Klopp began. "I am 57 and can still work a few more years. But I did not see myself on the sidelines for now. It was clear for me that I would do something. So then Red Bull came and for me it is outstanding, I can't lie."

© IMAGO - Ex-Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino and Jurgen Klopp

Klopp on Chelsea

Digging deeper into the topic, Kroos largely agreed with Klopp's assessment of the situation and understood his reasoning, with the former manager having also insisted that Red Bull's clubs have a clearly discernible transfer policy that is focused on developing players rather than lavishly splashing out on high-profile stars.

Klopp, in discussing transfer policies, eventually touched upon the topic of fixture congestion and how more games will inevitably necessitate the building of larger rosters which will, in turn, lead to a loss in overall quality.

"What do you even do as a coach every day with 40 players?" Kroos pondered. "Ask Chelsea!" Klopp quipped in response. "By the way, that's a bad example of what to do with your money," Kroos exclaimed. "For me, it would have been worse if you had gone there, I'll be honest."

"Absolutely crazy," Klopp said. "It's like flushing money down the drain, there is no coherent plan," Kroos continued. "They have five goalkeepers, it's great!" Toni's brother Felix joked.

Getting more serious, Klopp explained: "Now they have a team that is really a team. You have to admit it. I don't know if you saw the game against Liverpool, it was good. They're doing a good job now.

"But of course, it took them a while to get there. [Such a transfer policy] is difficult for the players, impossible for the coach. It's a negative example of how to go about it.

"Some will say, 'That's how you do it, you may have to eat sh*t for five years but then everything will be fine.' We'll see. But it was surely quite puzzling to all of us."