DFB leadership travels to New York for contract talks with Klopp

The Red Bull obstacle

A central obstacle remains Klopp's existing contract with Red Bull, where he serves as Head of Global Soccer on a deal running until 2029. That arrangement would need to be dissolved before he could take the Germany role. Further negotiations regarding the Red Bull contract are scheduled to take place in New York with Red Bull managing director Oliver Mintzlaff after the initial DFB talks.

According to reports, all parties are interested in finding a solution. The DFB has framed the trip as a working visit rather than a done deal, with Neuendorf and Watzke expected to discuss the details of Klopp's planned engagement face to face.

Germany's World Cup exit

Germany's World Cup campaign ended in disappointment. The team, which had entered the tournament with great ambitions, was eliminated in the round of 16 by Paraguay, losing 3:4 on penalties. Nagelsmann stepped down in the aftermath, opening the position that the DFB is now trying to fill.

The World Cup itself, hosted across the USA, Mexico and Canada, runs for 38 days starting on June 11 and features a new 48-team format with 12 groups. The expanded field produced mixed results for European sides: 13 of 16 European teams advanced from the group stage, while nine of ten African teams progressed, with only Egypt and Morocco reaching the round of 16. Of nine AFC teams, only Japan and Australia made it past the group stage before being eliminated. Of three host nations, only Canada reached the round of 16.

A tournament in transition

Other major footballing nations also face transition moments. Didier Deschamps, 57, will end his tenure as France's head coach after the World Cup. Thomas Tuchel is the head coach of the England national team, which faces Norway in a quarterfinal on Saturday at 23:00 in Miami, broadcast on MagentaTV. Brazil was eliminated in the round of 16 for the first time since 1990, and coach Carlo Ancelotti's work has not yet yielded results. Italy did not participate in the World Cup.

Morocco, eliminated in the quarterfinals by France, had 18 of its 26 squad players born in Europe, and coach Mohamed Ouahbi lived the first four and a half decades of his life in Brussels. France's 2-0 win over Morocco was Deschamps' 25th match as a coach at a World Cup, tying Helmut Schön's record.

For the DFB delegation, the immediate focus is narrower than the broader tournament picture. The officials will sit down with Klopp to discuss the scope and structure of the role, then turn to Mintzlaff to work through the contractual questions tied to Red Bull. Until those talks conclude, the German Football Association has not confirmed an appointment.