Former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp will not replace Gareth Southgate as England coach following the 53-year-old’s decision to step down from his role with the Three Lions.
It was confirmed on Tuesday that Southgate would resign as manager of England following their Euro 2024 campaign in Germany. The former defender guided the Three Lions to the final in Berlin but they fell short having succumbed to a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Spain.
This leaves England looking for a new coach for the first time in eight years and having recently left his role as Liverpool manager, many fans wanted to see the FA approach legendary coach Jurgen Klopp.
However, it is being reported by The Telegraph that the German will not be available to replace Southgate in time for the start of the World Cup qualifiers as the former Reds manager has no intention of returning to top-level management for another 12 months.
The report says that it will be July 2025 before the 57-year-old is ready to take on a new project.
That means the FA would have to begin their World Cup qualification with a caretaker or interim manager before they could entertain the idea of Klopp taking over in the build-up to the 2026 tournament.
Jurgen Klopp is correct to take a break from football
Klopp was recently approached by the United States to gauge his interest in replacing Gregg Berhalter as manager of the country’s national team, but the German did not enter any formal discussions with the 2026 World Cup co-hosts.
It is clear that the former Liverpool boss intends to take a proper break having been coaching teams for the last 23 years.
The 57-year-old admitted towards the end of his time at Anfield that he wants to experience other things in life before he is too old and the German coach is correct to take a break from the sport as it is extremely tiring.
It is not even certain that Klopp would be interested in the England job upon his return as a lot of clubs and countries will have an eye on the legendary coach in 2025.