2 weeks Ago By Bloomberg News
(Bloomberg) — Juergen Klopp is joining Red Bull GmbH as its global head of soccer, less than six months after stepping down as Liverpool FC’s coach. Klopp, who left Liverpool after nine years in May, will oversee Red Bull’s international network of football clubs from January, advising on talent and strategy, the Austrian energy drink company said in a statement on Wednesday. Red Bull owns a number of teams, including Leipzig, Salzburg and the New York Red Bulls.
It also has a stake in English Championship side Leeds United. Klopp will not be in charge of coaching the teams, instead advising on team development. Klopp, 57, left thousands of Liverpool fans in dismay when he departed the club after major trophy wins including the Champions League and the Premier League.
He first rose to success at Germany’s Borussia Dortmund GmbH, where he led to two Bundesliga titles in succession in 2011 and 2012. His appointment “will be a game changer for our involvement in international soccer and its continued development,” Oliver Mintzlaff, Red Bull’s head of corporate projects and investments, said. Gerard Houllier, another former Liverpool manager, was Red Bull’s global head of soccer from 2012 until 2020.
The Austrian company, known for marketing its caffeinated energy drinks through sports sponsorships, is closely held by Mark Mateschitz and the Yoovidhya family in Thailand. Spending on marketing reached almost a quarter of revenue last year, with sponsorship payments to athletes, including British Ironman world champion Lucy Charles-Barclay and Indian cricket star KL Rahul, reaching €1.09 billion.
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