Jürgen Klopp reaches agreement to take over as Germany head coach

Jürgen Klopp has “reached an agreement on the key points” to become the next Germany head coach, the German football association (DFB) has said. The 59-year-old is expected to sign a contract until 2030 to succeed Julian Nagelsmann.

A statement said: “The DFB president Bernd Neuendorf and DFB vice-president Hans-Joachim Watzke held their first in-depth talks with Jürgen Klopp yesterday in New York regarding his potential appointment as national team coach. During the constructive exchange, an agreement was reached on the key points of a potential contract. Talks will continue next week.

“Both sides are confident that the negotiations – subject to an agreement with Klopp’s current employer, Red Bull – can ultimately be successfully concluded. Any potential contract must be finalised in a joint meeting of the supervisory board and shareholders’ meeting of DFB GmbH & Co. KG.”

Germany topped their World Cup group with a game to spare but lost to Ecuador in their third match then were eliminated by Paraguay on penalties in the last 32. In the immediate aftermath of their exit Nagelsmann said he would like to continue – “I am not someone who runs away” – but on 3 July it was confirmed that the former Bayern manager would step down.

The DFB said in a statement that Nagelsmann’s contract, which ran to the 2028 Euros, would end with immediate effect and that Klopp had “already indicated his fundamental readiness to take over the position”.

Klopp has been out of management since leaving Liverpool at the end of the 2023-24 season, having led the club to Premier League and Champions League glory. He subsequently took on the post of Red Bull’s head of global soccer and has been working as a pundit for German TV at the World Cup.

He created headlines when he first suggested that Deniz Undav should start ahead of Jamal Musiala and, then, after being criticised by Lothar Matthäus among others, said: “Julian Nagelsmann is still picking the team – for now.”

Klopp was castigated for the “for now” comment with former players such as Andreas Möller and Stefan Effenberg taking exception. Klopp apologised and said he felt like “punching himself in the face”.

He added: “But it was already too late and I was on TV. It just slipped out so casually and has absolutely no meaning. What I know now is that I’ll be 59 the day after tomorrow and I’m still an idiot. We’re completely on your side. Nothing will be done to disrupt the process.”

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