'I know what the real Jurgen Klopp is like and Liverpool have missed a trick over new job'

Once football gets in your blood you are hooked.

That’s why I wasn’t surprised to hear that just four months after admitting that he just didn’t have the energy to carry on as Liverpool manager. I knew Jurgen would be back - and sooner rather than later.

He suffers from the same obsession that prompted Sir Alex Ferguson to keep putting off retirement until he was in his 70s despite achieving everything at Manchester United. And it’s why Steve Bruce has taken charge of League One Blackpool at the age of 63 after a long playing career and a managerial journey that has seen him take up no fewer than 12 previous jobs.

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I did assume that when Klopp announced his comeback that he would be nailed on to be named Germany’s coach. But agreeing to become the head of global soccer for the stable of clubs at Red Bull is clearly just a stepping stone for his move into the international game. And it’s a job that gives Jurgen the best of both worlds.

It was obvious when he left Anfield that he was a man who needed to spend more time with his family, especially as he had just become a grandfather. No-one should underestimate how much courage it took for him to walk away from a team that he had built with such care and which was still far from being a spent force in both the Champions League and Premier League. But his family came first.

Klopp will still get precious time to spend with his loved ones, but his new role as a mentor for coaches at Red Bull’s stable of clubs in Germany, Austria, Brazil and the United States means he will still have his finger on the pulse. The energy drink giants are reportedly in talks to also bring a French club into the fold.

And don’t forget that they also have a stake in Leeds United. What are the chances of seeing Jurgen passing on some advice to Daniel Farke up at Thorpe Arch sometime soon?

I didn’t believe Jurgen for a second when he claimed he had retired and was finished with the game for good. I remembered when he stepped away from Borussia Dortmund in the summer of 2015 complaining about battle fatigue - and four months later he arrived on Merseyside.

One thing that did cross my mind when Klopp’s appointment with Red Bull was announced was whether Liverpool had actually missed a trick. Michael Edwards has been brought back to Anfield to take up a role which appears to be very similar to the one Klopp has now accepted. Would it have been possible to keep one of the club’s greatest-ever managers in the fold? Or did both sides agree that his time was up?

If Klopp can impart his wisdom on to the Red Bull stable then it will prove to be a masterstroke of an appointment. But at the age of 57, I am sure he will eventually be desperate to get back out there on the grass at some point.

If it’s accurate that Jurgen has a clause in his Red Bull contract that enables him to walk out should he be offered the chance to become coach of Germany, then it is obvious what his end-game is. And again, international football’s less demanding schedule will afford him that valuable time with his nearest and dearest.

Perhaps that scenario might also be of interest at the FA, given England are still in the process of deciding whether Lee Carsley will become Gareth Southgate’s successor on a permanent basis. But my gut feeling is that home is where the heart is for Jurgen Norbert Klopp.

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