Manchester United are on the lookout for a new manager after parting ways with Ruben Amorim and Sir Jim Ratcliffe has already shared his feelings about Jurgen Klopp
Manchester United owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe is a fan of Jurgen Klopp but that’s unlikely to be enough to convince the German to make a shock move to Old Trafford. United’s sacking of Ruben Amorim has seen attention turn to out of work managers, with former Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca’s name coming up, but ex-Liverpool manager Klopp would appear to be a non-starter for a number of reasons.
“Klopp has this ability to drive his players to a frenzy,” Ratcliffe said back in March 2024, after his arrival at Manchester United had been confirmed. “Total commitment on the pitch. And, you know, that’s one of the things a good coach can do.”
At the time, Ratcliffe was asked whether he might be tempted to give Klopp a call in the knowledge the German had decided to leave Anfield at the end of the 2023/24 season. However, he quickly fired back at the reporter who asked the question, telling him: “You can’t ask questions like that”.
Ratcliffe hasn’t been afraid to bring in staff with connections to rival clubs, most notably bringing in former City Football Group figure Omar Berrada as CEO. However, a move for Klopp would be another matter altogether, and the former Borussia Dortmund boss has already indicated he wouldn’t entertain such a switch.
READ MORE: Next Man Utd manager LIVE: Top target identified, Solskjaer’s stance, Amorim’s payout
“If you ask me, ‘Will you ever work as a manager again?’ I would say now no. But I don’t know obviously how that will feel because I never had the situation,” Klopp said when confirming his Liverpool exit. “What I know definitely – I will never, ever manage a different club in England than Liverpool, 100 per cent.
“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 home here. There’s no chance to do that.
“But all the rest, will I ever work again? Of course, I know myself, I cannot just sit around. I will find something else maybe to do. But I will not manage a club or a country at least for a year, that’s not possible, I cannot do that and I don’t want to. That’s all.”
Klopp has stuck to his word, taking a role as Red Bull’s global head of soccer but showing no indication of returning to the dugout. Even if he were to make a return, a United move looks to be off the table, with the German previously rubbishing suggestions he had a dream of one day taking charge of the Old Trafford side.
“I really like Eckhard Krautzun but when I think too far in the past I am not 100 per cent sure what is right or wrong but it is still funny. I am sure he thinks it was like this,” Klopp said in 2017 after his former Mainz boss Krautzun spoke of that supposed United ambition.
“How could I, as a very average player at Mainz, say to my manager, ‘By the way, if I become a manager I would love to manage Manchester United’. Maybe people think I am a little bit crazy but I am not that crazy. I never thought about something like this.
“[Krautzun] was a big admirer, and is still, of Sir Alex Ferguson. In our first meeting he was wearing a jumper of Manchester United when he came in as a new coach. Maybe he forgot. There are a few funny stories, unfortunately a few things are not exact but still funny. I had fun when I read it but not all of it is exactly like this.”
While Klopp moving to United now looks to be an impossibility given his Liverpool connections, he was approached by the Red Devils back in 2013. At the time, the club was looking for a successor to Sir Alex Ferguson and Klopp was embarking on a run to the Champions League final with Dortmund.
“In the year when Sir Alex retired, they spoke to me,” Klopp told Diary of a CEO in 2025. “Of course, they were interested. At that time, I would’ve been interested – I was young, I had a sensational team at Dortmund. They probably thought, ‘What is he doing there?’”
He added: “United tried [to approach me]. It was the wrong time, wrong moment. I had a contract at Dortmund and wouldn’t have left for anybody.
“There were some things in the conversations that I didn’t like. The idea was that big – ‘We get all the players we want’ – and I was sitting there thinking, this is not my project.”
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Sky Sports discounted Premier League and EFL package
Sky has slashed the price of its Essential TV and Sky Sports bundle ahead of the 2025/26 season, saving members £192 and offering more than 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more.
Sky will show at least 215 live Premier League games next season, an increase of up to 100 more.
