‘I’m enjoying my rest’: Klopp rules out becoming England coach

Former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has ruled himself out of the race to replace Gareth Southgate as the head coach of England.

Speaking at a German Football Coaches Association meeting in Wuerzburg on Wednesday, Klopp ruled out a return to coaching in the near future, including for the vacant England job.

“I didn’t decide to stop on a whim, it was a general decision,” the former Liverpool and Borussia Dortmund mentor said.

Klopp stood down as Liverpool boss at the end of the 2023-24 season citing exhaustion after 23 years in club management.

The 57-year-old manager was almost immediately linked to several vacant jobs, including as England coach when Southgate stood down the Three Lions lost the Euro 2024 final in Berlin.

“I’m looking for peace and quiet, I’m one hundred per cent in the here and now and I’m enjoying it.

“It was just time to step aside and put the whole thing to rest,” said Klopp, adding that making a special exception for a club or country “would be a great loss of face”.

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He said he was enjoying retirement but would work again in football at some point, even if his days in the dugout were over.

Klopp added: “I’m too young to just play padel tennis and spend time with my grandchildren.

“Will I be a coach again? I would actually rule that out at the moment. Let’s see how it looks in a few months. At the moment, there’s nothing in the pipeline.

“We can perhaps talk about it again in a few months.

“I still want to work in football and help people with my experience and contacts. Let’s see what else there is for me.”

Klopp, who added that he had “already coached the best clubs in the world”, played 325 games for Mainz before stepping up to the role of coach in 2001.

He moved to Dortmund in 2008, winning two league titles and taking the club to the 2013 Champions League final before signing with Liverpool in 2015.

At Liverpool, Klopp ended the Reds’ 30-year wait for the Premier League title. He also took the club to three Champions League finals, winning one, delivered an FA Cup, two League Cups, and a UEFA Supercup.

The Star