Jurgen Klopp 'agreed' Red Bull deal while still Liverpool manager as exit painted in new light

A bombshell report has claimed that Jurgen Klopp agreed to his new role with Red Bull while still Liverpool manager.

The German has agreed to become , where he will oversee its international network of football clubs and advise them on playing philosophy, transfer strategy and coaching development.

That will see the 57-year-old work with Bundesliga outfit RB Leipzig, Austrian side RB Salzburg and giants New York Red Bulls, among others, which has already and led Klopp to .

But by the time the official announcement was made by Red Bull on Wednesday, had already known of his position for two years. According to a remarkable report from German outlet , the former boss knew where his future lay while still in charge at Anfield.

It's claimed that former co-founder and 49% owner of Red Bull, Dietrich Mateschitz, had personally convinced Klopp of the move while lying on his death bed at his Austrian villa in September 2022 - just months after the German had extended his Liverpool contract until 2026.

By this point, the Reds had already kicked off their 2022-23 campaign, but for the next year and a half, Klopp "stood on the sidelines of Liverpool FC with the knowledge that it would be over after the 2023/24 season".

For the remainder of the 2022-23 season, it would be largely one to forget for Liverpool, which could only count the FA Community Shield as its only piece of silverware that year. A disastrous fifth-place finish in the ensued, while there were early round exits from the , and .

Was the Red Bull move at the back of Klopp's mind? Unlikely. But having failed to achieve any further success in his final campaign besides another Carabao Cup trophy means it will be no surprise if his big secret is held against him over the coming days, weeks and months.

Klopp always knew the 2023-24 campaign would be his last, 14 months before he reportedly informed the Anfield hierarchy, 16 months before it was announced to the world, and 20 months before his final game as Liverpool manager.

It seems remarkable that it remained a secret for so long, especially when Klopp still had to politely turn down job requests from the and others. But not because he wanted his year-long sabbatical, but because he already knew he had a role to take on at the start of next year.

Helmut Marko, RB's chief advisor in motorsport, admired the secrecy of the deal, telling TZ: "It's unbelievable how such a megadeal could remain secret for so long. In Formula 1, that would never have been possible."