DFB and Klopp agree on key contract points, but Red Bull approval still pending

The New York meeting

DFB President Bernd Neuendorf and Vice President Hans-Joachim Watzke held an initial intensive conversation with Klopp on Friday, accompanied by Klopp's advisor Marc Kosicke. The meeting, which lasted more than four hours, took place at a hotel near John F. Kennedy Airport in New York. The 'Bild' newspaper published photos of the gathering. According to the information, Klopp is to sign a contract covering a World Cup cycle until 2030: "Klopp soll den Angaben zufolge einen Vertrag über einen WM-Zyklus bis 2030 unterschreiben."

Klopp, the former coach of Dortmund and Liverpool, is the DFB's preferred candidate to succeed Julian Nagelsmann, who is reported to have received a multi-million euro severance payment. Klopp's reported annual salary as national team coach would be over seven million euros. His preparation with the national team is scheduled to begin in Herzogenaurach in approximately ten weeks, ahead of four matches within ten days against the Netherlands, Serbia, and Greece (twice).

The Red Bull obstacle

The central obstacle is Klopp's existing role at Red Bull, where he is employed as 'Head of Global Soccer' until 2029. The decision-maker at Red Bull who must approve any move is Oliver Mintzlaff, who was himself a member of the DFB Task Force established after the 2022 World Cup flop. To avoid a multi-million euro compensation payment that would exceed the DFB's budget, the parties favor a model in which Klopp would remain a Red Bull brand ambassador in parallel with his role as national team coach.

Any potential agreement must be approved in a joint meeting of the DFB's supervisory board and shareholders' meeting: "Eine mögliche Vereinbarung muss demnach in einer gemeinsamen Sitzung von Aufsichtsrat und Gesellschafterversammlung des DFB beschlossen werden." Regional association presidents Ralph-Uwe Schaffert (North), Peter Frymuth (West), Hermann Winkler (Saxony), and Christoph Kern (Bavaria) are members of the relevant DFB body. The DFB will also have a new kit supplier deal with Nike taking effect from 2027, providing the federation with significant financial resources.

Internal criticism

The planned dual role has drawn criticism from within the DFB's regional associations. According to reports by the Sport-Informations-Dienst (SID), discontent is growing over the arrangement. Uwe Döring, president of the Schleswig-Holsteinischer Fußball-Verband (SHFV) and a member of FC St. Pauli, publicly criticized Klopp's Red Bull engagement and the planned dual role: "Als Fußballfan und Mitglied des FC St. Pauli habe ich Klopps Engagement bei Red Bull nie verstanden, Geld kann es ja eigentlich nicht mehr sein. Aber vielleicht liege ich da auch falsch, dieser ganze Irrsinn bei Trainergehältern und Abfindungen, die auch bei Nichtleistungen gezahlt werden, stößt mich nur noch ab. Hoffentlich wird die Schraube nicht überdreht, es wenden sich jetzt schon viele ab." Several other regional association presidents share Döring's criticism.

Klopp himself has framed the national team job in broad terms. After Germany's World Cup exit against Paraguay, he said: "Der deutsche Fußball steht jetzt natürlich an einem Wendepunkt. Wir müssen jetzt Dinge grundlegend verändern." He has also described his current role at MagentaTV as "Fortbildung in Sachen Weltklassefußball" and said of Mintzlaff: "Ich weiß, dass ihm der deutsche Fußball am Herzen liegt."

Historical parallel

The episode echoes a previous secretive pursuit of a national team coach. In 2004, DFB chief Gerhard Mayer-Vorfelder and Secretary General Horst R. Schmidt flew from Frankfurt to New York for secret negotiations with Jürgen Klinsmann to succeed Rudi Völler after the Euro 2004 group-stage exit in Portugal. Klinsmann, who was responsible for Germany's 2006 World Cup 'Summer Fairy Tale', later described the role of a national team coach as essentially being a "Menschen-Manager."

The news was broadcast on Deutschlandfunk on 12 July 2026 and distributed via the dpa news channel. The DFB and Klopp have agreed on the key points of a potential contract during the New York meeting: "Bei dem konstruktiven Austausch wurde eine Verständigung über wesentliche Eckpunkte eines potenziellen Vertrages erzielt." No signature has yet been announced.