Jurgen Klopp will walk back into the Anfield dugout this month for the first time since his emotional 2024 farewell but don’t expect a permanent return just yet, with the German making clear any future job would have to put football first, not corporate nonsense.
The Liverpool legend is set to share the touchline with Sir Kenny Dalglish for a charity clash against old foes Borussia Dortmund during the March international break. It’s a one off, raising funds for the LFC Foundation, a cause close to Klopp’s heart.
But with Arne Slot’s side stuttering in the league this season, early Carabao Cup exit, shaky European nights, and a title defence that’s already unravelled the inevitable question keeps bubbling up: could Klopp ever come back?
The 58 year old hasn’t exactly shut the door.
Klopp’s Anfield Return
March 28 is the date. A Legends match against Dortmund. Steven Gerrard. Dalglish. Klopp back where he belongs, if only for an afternoon.
“I’m really proud to be an Ambassador for the LFC Foundation. It means a lot to me, honestly,” Klopp said ahead of the fixture.
“To be back at Anfield for the Legends game, alongside Sir Kenny and his team, playing against the BVB legends, that is something special. It’s going to be a very emotional and special day for me, for the LFC Foundation and for everyone involved. I can’t wait and I really hope to see you all there.”
It’ll be a proper Anfield occasion. But what comes after?
Requirements for Dugout Comeback
If Klopp does return to management and that remains a big if he’s already laid down his terms. He wants a club where football comes first. Not marketing. Not image. Not some corporate box ticking exercise.
It’s why he chose Liverpool back in 2015. Manchester United and Real Madrid both came knocking, but Klopp wasn’t interested in what they were selling.
Speaking in 2018, he explained: “I love the history. I really am a football romantic. I knew I probably can help. They maybe really need me, in this time. I know what I’m good at. When they told me about the problems they had I thought, ‘OK, yeah, I am probably the really right manager for that club.’
“They took me like I am, they didn’t ask me to do anything else, so I could focus from the first day completely on football. It is a football club. A football club. I had talks with other clubs and they didn’t sound like a football club. It sounded like marketing, image, you need to sign this, you need to sign that. And I thought, ‘Wow, that’s not the game I love.'”
That ethos won’t change. If he comes back, it’ll be on his terms.
And for the record? He’s ruled out ever managing another English club. Liverpool or nothing.
“What I know definitely I will never, ever manage a different club in England than Liverpool, 100 per cent,” he said in 2024.
“That’s not possible. My love for this club, my respect for the people, is too big. I couldn’t. I couldn’t for a second think about it. There’s no chance. This is part of my life, we are part of the family, we feel at home here. There’s no chance to do that.”
When asked again last year whether he’d ever come back to Liverpool, Klopp added: “I said I will never coach a different team in England so that means, if [I did return], then it’s Liverpool. So, yeah, theoretically it is possible.”
The door, then, is ajar. Just a crack.
Wife’s Thoughts on Liverpool Decision
If Klopp ever does return, you can bet Ulla Sandrock will have had a say. The pair married in 2005 and she’s been his sounding board throughout. When he was considering leaving Liverpool in 2022, it was Ulla who convinced him to stay.
“The most important contract I signed in my life was the one with Ulla,” Klopp said at the time. “And that’s why it started again, because actually we sat at the kitchen table and Ulla said, ‘I can’t see us leaving in 2024.’ I said, ‘What?’ That’s how it all started.”
She’s also left her own mark on Merseyside. During the pandemic, she made a hefty donation to Formby Community Football Club and handed out £1,000 worth of food vouchers to supermarket staff all without wanting any fuss.
A Waitrose employee said at the time: “This was an incredible thing to do. Typically, Ulla didn’t want to make a fuss, or receive any reception, and just wanted people working in shops to get the recognition they deserve.”
For now, Klopp is settled in his role as Red Bull’s head of global football, spotted at sporting events worldwide. The Liverpool chapter is closed but not locked.
March 28 will be emotional. The Kop will serenade him. And for 90 minutes, it’ll feel like he never left.
Whether he ever comes back for good? That’s a decision that’ll be made around the kitchen table. And Ulla will have the final word.
