Jürgen Klopp had barely begun his reign as Germany head coach before he threatened to end it. At his first press conference in Frankfurt, the 59-year-old issued an ultimatum to the media: intrude on his family's privacy and he will walk away without severance pay.
"If you behave badly and don't leave my family in peace then I'll be gone, I'll just turn away," Klopp said. "I love this job but I am always ready to call it quits if need be."
“Klopp warns media to leave his family alone or he'll quit as Germany boss.”
The former Liverpool manager was appointed on a four-year deal on Friday, replacing Julian Nagelsmann, who resigned on 3 July after Germany's shock World Cup last-32 defeat to Paraguay. Klopp, who ended his nine-year tenure at Liverpool in the summer of 2024 after "running out of energy," has since January 2025 served as Red Bull's global head of soccer. Now he is tasked with reviving a national team that has not reached the last 16 since winning the World Cup in 2014.
Klopp did not hold back in his critique of how his predecessors were treated. "I'm taking this job even though I've seen how you've treated Julian Nagelsmann and Thomas Tuchel," he said. He also expressed regret for poking fun at Nagelsmann while working as a television pundit during the World Cup.
The 59-year-old suggested this will be his final job in top-level football. "Jurgen Klopp is not going to have any 'career' after the national team," he said. "This is the pinnacle, the absolutely high point of my footballing career as coach. I will give everything I have got."
Klopp will work alongside former Liverpool assistants Pep Lijnders and Peter Krawietz. His first game in charge is a Nations League group-stage match against the Netherlands on 24 September. He vowed to transform the relationship between the national team and Germany's public, citing his work at Liverpool. "I want to create a situation where fans go home after the game and say: 'Wow, that was cool,'" he said. "Ideally, football can change a country."
But the warning remained: "Criticise me if something doesn't work. If you say tomorrow: 'He's shit,' tell me to my face and I'm out."