Jurgen Klopp hopeful Mohamed Salah will agree a new Liverpool deal
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Jurgen Klopp has started his new role as Red Bull's head of global football.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
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SALZBURG – Former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp expressed hope on Jan 14 that Mohamed Salah will sign a new contract to stay at Anfield beyond the end of this season.
“I hope he stays. He is a fantastic player, a fantastic human being, an outstanding athlete, the best ambassador your country could have. So I hope he will stay at Liverpool,” he replied to a question about Salah from an Egyptian journalist during a press conference in Austria.
The German was speaking at his unveiling as Red Bull’s head of global football, a role in which he will oversee the energy drinks conglomerate’s football empire.
He is starting out in the position having left Liverpool at the end of last season, after close to nine years as manager.
Red Bull controls clubs in several countries around the world – including RB Leipzig in Klopp’s native Germany, Red Bull Salzburg in Austria and New York Red Bulls in Major League Soccer – while it recently acquired a minority stake in French second-tier side Paris FC.
Klopp also dismissed any suggestion his new role could be a precursor to returning to coaching in the near future.
“I finished seven months ago at Liverpool and I did it consciously. I said I am not the right man for the job any more, but I never said I wouldn’t work again and a few months later, the opportunity (here) came up,” the 57-year-old German said.
“I wanted to be part of it and now I realise I am excited but also that I can be quite useful.”
Liverpool, meanwhile, have enjoyed a seamless transition to life without Klopp, as they sit top of the English Premier League and the Champions League standings under his successor Arne Slot.
Klopp reiterated that he felt it was the right time to step down, and he did not miss the daily grind of club management.
“I am more than happy not to be there. It is really great that they are doing so well, I wish them all the best. I watch as many games as I can,” he added.
“It is great football. Even if you don’t support Liverpool right now, you had better watch them because it is really top football, maybe the best balanced in the world right now.”
The former Borussia Dortmund coach also said he hoped Salah’s fellow stars Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold will also choose to extend their contracts, which expire at the end of the season as well.
“I am so happy I am not in charge in that situation, having to answer these questions,” he sighed.
“From my point of view, I would love all three of them to extend their contracts but I don’t know, they didn’t tell me.”
On his new role, Klopp will not be involved in the day-to-day operations but act as an adviser for the Red Bull clubs in Germany, Austria, United States, Brazil and Japan, while also supporting the organisation’s global scouting operation.
He will also contribute to the training and development of coaches.
“I always wanted to try to learn new stuff and I felt immediately that it’s exactly what I want to do. It’s a different role. I wanted to get a new start and this is an opportunity to add value. How it will look we will see,” he said. AFP, REUTERS
