Jurgen Klopp’s comments about the Liverpool manager job have caused quite a stir

Phil Thompson has weighed in on Jurgen Klopp’s unexpected revelation that he might one day come back to manage Liverpool. The German coach left Anfield at the end of the 2023/24 season, closing the curtain on a nine-year spell that included both a Premier League and Champions League triumph.

Following six months away from the game, the 58-year-old made a return in January 2025, although not in the dugout, after taking on the position of head of global soccer at Red Bull. In several interviews since leaving Liverpool, Klopp has repeatedly stressed that he does not feel any longing for day-to-day coaching duties.

That said, while appearing on The Diary of a CEO podcast, Klopp acknowledged that a future return to the Liverpool hot seat cannot be completely ruled out.

He said: “I said I will never coach a different team in England. So that means if [Klopp returns] it’s Liverpool. So yeah, theoretically it’s possible. I love what I do right now, I don’t miss coaching. I don’t. I mean I do coach, just different, not players.

“And I don’t miss it. I don’t miss standing in the rain two-and-a-half, three hours. I don’t miss going to press conference three times a week, having 10-12 interviews a week. I don’t miss that. I don’t miss being in the dressing room in the sense that I don’t have it often enough, I coached 1,080 something games.”

He added: “So, I was in the dressing room very, very often. I’m 58, that’s from your perspective, old from the other side, it’s not that old. That means I could make the decision in a few years. I don’t know.

“[If] I had to make the decision today, I won’t coach again but thank God I don’t have to do that. I can just see what the future brings.”

Klopp’s comments were later discussed by Thompson and Sam Allardyce on the most recent episode of the No Tippy Tappy Football podcast, where the former questioned the wisdom of making such remarks public.

“I thought that was naughty and that was a couple of weeks ago,” ex-Liverpool captain Thompson said. “I thought him being asked the question like that didn’t help Arne [Slot] who was then under a lot of pressure.

“[His comments] came three or four games into the [unbeaten] run and I thought ‘why have you said that Jurgen’. It got a lot of traction and I was going ‘no’, we’ve been there and you hear that thing when you’re in there. I’m not saying it won’t happen and it’s not right.”

Liverpool are currently on a 10-match unbeaten stream in the Premier League. Even so, a series of unconvincing displays during that run has kept the pressure ramped up on manager Arne Slot, particularly after Xabi Alonso – who was linked with a move to Liverpool in 2024 – left Real Madrid last week.

Slot was questioned about speculation linking Alonso with a possible Anfield return. In response, the Dutch coach offered a tongue-in-cheek reply: “Yes he called me and said: ‘What do you think about the team because I am going to take over in six months, can you tell me a little bit more?’

“Or maybe earlier. Maybe he takes over tomorrow! No, no, no. This is one of the weirdest questions I ever got. What is there it say? I am working here for a little bit more than one and a half years and I really like my work over here. We won the league last season, struggled more in the league this season. That is also obvious, so yes what is there left to say?”