Jurgen Klopp’s reputation among supporters in Germany is taking a hit after his appointment as head of global soccer at Red Bull.

The Austrian energy drinks producer has landed a public relations coup by hiring one of the most respected figures in German and European football.

Beginning in January, Klopp will oversee all footballing developments within the company.

In 2009, though, Red Bull caused controversy in German football when it took over fifth-division club SSV Markranstadt and turned it into RB Leipzig.

Currently, Red Bull owns Red Bull Salzburg, New York Red Bulls, Brazilian club Red Bull Bragantino and recently acquired a stake in Leeds United. It is also financing RB Leipzig while not technically owning the Bundesliga club.

Klopp, who left Liverpool at the end of last season after “running out of energy”, has received a lot of criticism for joining the Austrians – especially among fans of his former club Borussia Dortmund.

German Football Association (DFB) laws state German clubs must operate on a ’50+1′ rule, meaning members – essentially fans – own the majority of shares and can influence decisions such as ticket prices.

Rivals feel RB Leipzig exploited the system by having just 17 members with voting rights – most are directly linked to Red Bull – and got around a law stating teams must not be named after sponsors by officially calling the club RasenBallsport Leipzig, which translates as LawnBallsport Leipzig.

RB are often referred to as the “most hated club in Germany” and have faced regular protests by opposition fans, ranging from boycotting games to the arrest of 28 Borussia Dortmund fans for throwing cans and stones at rival supporters in 2017.

Borussia Dortmund have been critical of the rise of clubs such as Leipzig that have very little tradition and are accused of being used as marketing vehicles.

Klopp has also been critical of the multi-club model, saying in 2017: “I’m a football romantic and I like tradition in football and all that stuff. In Germany, only two clubs sing ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ before the game – and that is Mainz and Dortmund.”

Given Klopp’s history with Dortmund, where he worked from 2008 to 2015, supporters of the club were particularly upset on social media with their long-time hero.

“How much can one squander their reputation within a second?” one user posted on X after the news of Klopp’s appointment on Wednesday morning.

Another wrote: “I have something positive from the Klopp message for you: In Dortmund, it is now finally possible to emotionally close the Jurgen Klopp era. No more nostalgic moaning that is hindering the current sporting process.”

Others have accused him of being a “hypocrite” and “selling out”.

Meanwhile, some made fun of Klopp’s statement in February when he announced he would leave Liverpool at the end of the 2023-24 season as he felt he was running out of energy, saying that he will not run out of energy anymore with enough Red Bull drinks.

Heavyweight Chris Barnett has been forced off Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 244 because of Hurricane Milton.

The UFC officially announced Barnett (23-8 MMA, 2-2 UFC) won’t be fighting Junior Tafa (5-3 MMA, 1-3 UFC) at the UFC Apex because of “issues” related to the storm.

The promotion did not elaborate on the exact issues facing Barnett, who resides in the Tampa, Fla. area, which is in the path of Hurricane Milton, a Category 4 storm expected to hit Florida on Wednesday night local time.

Barnett will be replaced by newcomer Sean Sharaf (4-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC). That bout was first reported by Code Sports.

With the change, the UFC Fight Night 244 lineup includes:

MAIN CARD (ESPN+, 7 p.m. ET)

• Brandon Royval vs. Tatsuro Taira
• JunYong Park vs. Brad Tavares
• Grant Dawson vs. Rafa Garcia
• Cory McKenna vs. Julia Polastri
• Alex Morono vs. Daniel Rodriguez
• Abdul Razak Alhassan vs. Josh Fremd

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 4 p.m. ET)

• Jared Gooden vs. Chidi Njokuani
• Ramazonbek Temirov vs. CJ Vergara
• Jonathan Pearce vs. Pat Sabatini
• Themba Gorimbo vs. Niko Price
• Sean Sharaf vs. Junior Tafa
• Dan Argueta vs. Cody Haddon
• Clayton Carpenter vs. Lucas Rocha

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 244.

JACK GREALISH has revealed which England team-mates he would and would not ask to babysit for him.

The Manchester City and England star has become a parent with long-term partner Sasha Attwood last month.

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They couple welcomed baby girl named Mila on September 27, hours before Grealish lined up to play for City against Newcastle.

It comes following his Three Lions comeback under interim manager Lee Carsley after missing out on the Euro 2024 squad.

And speaking to BBC 5 Live Sport ahead of clashes against Greece and Finland, the 29-year-old has now revealed what England team-mates he would be happy to babysit his kid.

On the best, he said: “Harry Kane I think. It’s quite a young team so I wouldn’t put it on any of the young lads and you know Harry, he’s so reliable.

“One of the oldest lads, so yeah I’d go Harry.”

He was then asked about club-mate Phil Foden, who himself has three children.

Grealish added: “Well yeah, you could say Phil actually. He’s got a fair few hasn’t he?

“[But] Yeah, I’m going to go Harry Kane.”

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The former Aston Villa star was then quizzed on who he reckons the worst babysitter would be.

He said: “The worst… I’m going to go [Bukayo] Saka. Yeah I’m going to go Bukayo.

“I just reckon he would be sloppy, you know, falling asleep and that.”

Grealish was also asked who he would go to for parenting advice.

On that topic, he replied: “I’d go with [Jordan] Pickford. [I’m] Quite close with him.”

He then added: “You know what actually, I could go with Dec [Declan Rice] as well.

“Maybe Dec or Jordan. Yeah, one of them two.”

The penultimate question saw him asked who he reckons would be the “fun dad” out of the squad.

He said: “Can you go yourself or… Yeah go on I’ll put myself down for that one.”

The final question got him to name the “strict dad” of the group.

He replied: “I reckon someone like Marc Guehi. Just quite firm, you know, serious. Uncle Marc.”

At the age of just 24 years old many of his peers at international level have given the Crystal Palace defender the nickname “Uncle Marc”.

Jude Bellingham and Ezri Konsa first revealed the nickname back in July, while Kyle Walker also mentioned the name when speaking to John Stones about who could be a good future manager.

Grealish scored only his third England goal last month against the Republic of Ireland and has earned 38 caps so far.

Inside Sasha Attwood and Jack Grealish’s relationship

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Sasha Attwood and Jack Grealish have become parents for the first time, but their relationship started well over a decade ago…

The pair met as teens in Solihull, West Midlands at secondary school, with Sasha previously saying they have been together since she was 15.

Jack was already on his way to becoming a professional footballer when he met Sasha.

Despite the long-term nature of their relationship, she remained on the sidelines when his career took off.

However, intense interest in Jack’s private life came to a head in 2021 when England reached the final of Euro 2020, delayed a year because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

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Because of their romance, Sasha was cruelly targeted by trolls on TikTok and Instagram, receiving 200 death threats a day from “young girls”.

The pair were spotted on holiday together following the tournament and slowly began showing more of their relationship on social media when the vile trolling died down.

In 2022, they celebrated their 10-year anniversary and purchased a seven-bed mansion set in 24 acres worth £5.6 million.

They moved in to the home in late 2023, but Sasha and members of Jack’s family were subject to a terrifying robbery while cheering on the Manchester City star during a televised match just after Christmas.

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Their latest milestone is Sasha’s pregnancy, which they announced on social media on July 7, and the birth of daughter Mila Rose on September 27.

A late change has been made to Saturday’s UFC Vegas 98 card after heavyweight Chris Barnett was knocked out of his fight against Junior Tafa.

Barnett was removed from the card due to issues related to Hurricane Milton, and he won’t be able to compete. UFC officials confirmed the change on Wednesday.

With Barnett unable to fight, Tafa now faces UFC newcomer Sean Sharaf, who accepts the fight on short notice with his UFC debut now just a few days away. The news was originally reported by Code Sports on Tuesday.

Sharaf joins the UFC roster with a 4-0 record with all four wins coming by way of first round knockout.

The 31-year-old heavyweight prospect trains out of Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas so it’s close proximity to where he’ll fight on Saturday at the UFC APEX.

He’ll attempt to keep his undefeated record in tact while facing Tafa, who comes into the fight off two straight losses. Most recently Tafa fell by first round heel hook submission to Valter Walker, which dropped his overall UFC record to 1-3.

The fight between Tafa and Sharaf is expected to take place on the preliminary card, which kick off at 4 p.m. ET on Saturday.