Jurgen Klopp departed Liverpool in the summer of 2024 to take a sabbatical from football management, but is reportedly being lined up for his next job.
Though Klopp is set to become the new Head of Global Football at Red Bull at the start of January, having signed a four-year deal with the energy drinks supplier, there’s an exit clause inserted in his deal should the German national team job becomes available.
It’s a team elsewhere in Europe that is eyeing Klopp up for a potential return to management, however.
Jurgen Klopp a potential successor to Diego Simeone
According to Spanish outlet Relevo, Atletico Madrid are preparing for the potential departure of long-serving boss Diego Simeone, with Jurgen Klopp “highly valued” at the Spanish side.
While Simone’s contract runs until June 2027, the arrival of new director of football Carlos Bucero at the start of 2024 has seen big changes at the club. There’s a suggestion that Simeone’s position is unclear, with the Argentine reportedly considering his options now.
Since becoming the Atletico manager in 2011, Simeone has helped them beat Real Madrid and Barcelona to two La Liga titles and a Copa del Rey, while he’s also added a Europa League crown to his honours list after twice reaching the Champions League final.
With the team completely built in his image, Klopp would have a difficult task in replacing Simeone, however. Though both play high-octane football, Simeone is slightly more defensive and utilises more aggressive players such as Rodri De Paul, Jose Maria Gimenez and Marcos Llorente.
Alongside Klopp’s name, Fernando Torres, Luis Enrique and Mauricio Pochettino have also been touted as Simeone’s potential successors.
In FourFourTwo‘s opinion, it seems unlikely that Klopp would move to Atletico Madrid. Following Simeone would prove difficult even for a manager with the German’s calibre, while he’d also command interest from teams such as Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and, of course, Germany.
