Jürgen Klopp’s Germany Dream Hinges on a Handshake Deal With Red Bull

Jürgen Klopp might finally be on the verge of coaching his home country. The problem is he already works for someone else.

Reports out of Germany say Julian Nagelsmann is ready to step down as national team coach, which would clear the path for Klopp to take over a job he has been connected to for years. The German soccer federation, the DFB, has wanted him. The fans have wanted him. And Klopp himself has never exactly hidden the fact that coaching Germany is something he would love to do.

But there is one very large complication: Red Bull.

Klopp signed a contract as Head of Global Soccer with the energy drink company in 2024. The deal runs through 2029. He is not some free agent just waiting for the phone to ring.

According to Bild, there is a verbal agreement between Klopp and Red Bull that would let him leave if Germany came calling. But here is the thing. That exit clause is apparently not written into his contract. It is a handshake deal. And in a business this big, handshake deals can get messy fast.

Red Bull wants a fee

Bild also reports that Red Bull would ask for a single-digit million-euro compensation payment if Klopp left early. That might not sound like much in the world of soccer transfers. But for the DFB, it would be unprecedented. The German federation has never paid a transfer fee for a coach. Ever.

So the question is not just whether Klopp wants the job. It is whether the DFB is willing to break with decades of precedent to make it happen. And whether Red Bull will actually honor a verbal agreement that was never put on paper.

Klopp is 59 years old. He has been out of club management since leaving Liverpool at the end of last season. A lot of people assumed he would eventually end up in charge of the German national team. That moment might finally be here. But the fine print could stop it before it even starts.

The DFB has not commented on the reports. Neither has Red Bull. And Klopp has been quiet too. But the soccer world is watching. Because if this deal falls apart, it will not be because Klopp did not want the job. It will be because of a handshake that was never signed.