- Jurgen Klopp to join Red Bull as head of global football on January 1
- Fans in Germany continue to make clear their anger at Klopp’s decision
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Bundesliga fans sent Jurgen Klopp a threatening message as anger over the former Liverpool manager’s move to Red Bull continues in Germany.
The 57-year-old has received a lot of criticism since agreeing to become Red Bull’s global football director, a role he will take up on January 1.
The Austrian drinks giant owns Red Bull Salzburg, New York Red Bulls, Brazilian club Red Bull Bragantino and has a stake in Leeds United. Although he does not technically own RB Leipzig, he also finances the Bundesliga team.
The laws of the German Football Association state that German clubs must operate according to a ’50+1′ rule, meaning that members – essentially fans – own the majority of the shares and can influence decisions such as the price of shares. tickets.
RB Leipzig was accused of exploiting the system by having only 17 voting members, most directly linked to Red Bull, and circumvented a law stating that teams must not bear the name of sponsors by officially calling the club RasenBallsport Leipzig. , which translates to LawnBallsport Leipzig. .
And Holstein Kiel fans who faced Leipzig in the league on Saturday made their feelings clear about Klopp’s move by unfurling a banner showing the former Borussia Dortmund caught in the crosshairs, next to a tombstone.
Klopp appeared alongside Red Bull manager Oliver Mintzlaff, as well as football financiers Martin Kind and Dietmar Hopp, with the caption “The Gravediggers of German Football”.
Jurgen Klopp appears in the spotlight next to a tombstone on a banner at a Bundesliga match.
Former Borussia Dortmund coach Klopp defended his decision to join Red Bull
The German will begin his work as head of global football at Red Bull from January 1
The banner was unfurled four minutes into RB Leipzig’s 2-0 victory and was rolled up eight minutes later.
This is the latest in a series of protests against Klopp’s move to Red Bull. Mainz fans raised banners with messages such as: “Have you forgotten everything we gave you?” addressed to his former coach when they played against Leipzig in October.
Following that protest, Klopp defended his decision to join Red Bull, arguing that you can’t make everyone happy.
“I didn’t want to step on anyone,” he said on former Germany, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid midfielder Toni Kroos’ podcast.
“I love all my old clubs, but I don’t know what I could have done to make everyone happy.
‘I’m 57 years old and I can still work for a few more years, but for now I don’t see myself on the sidelines. “I knew I was going to do something, and then Red Bull came along.”