Michael Owen discusses Jurgen Klopp and Sir Alex Ferguson. (Image: Getty)
Former Liverpool and Manchester United striker Michael Owen has praised Jurgen Klopp, who has distanced himself from Liverpool since leaving the club in the summer of 2024, contrasting the actions of former United manager Sir Alex Ferguson. The legendary former United manager remains a prominent figure at Old Trafford, but Owen believes his choice to largely stay away from Anfield following Klopp’s departure is a sign of respect for his successor, Arne Slott.
The England icon’s observations come after the legendary German manager spoke out about a possible return to Anfield in October, suggesting it is theoretically possible. The simple presence of a club legend observing his successors is undoubtedly a source of tension for many managers in world football.
Owen suggested that Scottish legend Sir Alex’s near-permanent presence at Old Trafford since leaving United in 2013 has influenced successive managers looking to follow in his footsteps.
Slott won the Premier League title in his debut season on Merseyside but has endured difficulties this season, with some supporters calling for his sacking. Nevertheless, Klopp has been watching from afar, only returning for the Legends’ charity match against Borussia Dortmund earlier this month.
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Owen told Casino.org: “If you look around the East Rank, people have been criticizing Sir Alex Ferguson for 10, 15 years, but basically Sir Alex says very little. He rarely gives interviews. He’s never been disrespectful or disrespectful to the Manchester United manager, never has been.”
“He basically sits in the stands and watches his old team. Jurgen Klopp doesn’t do that now. He doesn’t come back and sit in the manager’s box and look down on the manager. His role at Red Bull is very often thrown in front of journalists.”
“As you know, he’s been asked these questions and I’m sure he wouldn’t have appeared on ‘X’ or written a statement about the situation at Liverpool if he didn’t have to give interviews to the press.
“I don’t think he wants that. But obviously it’s part of his job to go to the press from time to time and people will ask him about it. So, no, basically I think Jurgen Klopp has been very respectful of the Liverpool manager. He’s so keen to support Slott that he even started singing this song at Anfield, right?”
Michael Owen has praised manager Jurgen Klopp. (Image: Getty)
Liverpool’s dramatic late win against local rivals Everton on Sunday gave Slott some respite, but enthusiasm for the Dutchman remains. Owen, who scored 158 goals in eight seasons at Anfield, believes Klopp could still return to the Liverpool dugout if Slott leaves the club this summer.
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However, he touched on Klopp’s original justification for his resignation – that the German had been depleted of the energy needed to lead the club into the Premier League and Champions League – and made it clear that such a scenario was probably more fantasy than reality.
“I think it’s wishful thinking, but you never know, right? You never know,” Owen said. “They say they’ll never go back. For Liverpool under Jurgen Klopp, it was an amazing, brilliant, beautiful dream.
“Some of the happiest moments in a lot of Liverpool fans’ lives will be during the Klopp years. So I think a lot of Liverpool fans would dream of that scenario. And if he snaps his fingers and[Klopp]says, ‘Yes, I want to go back,’ then Liverpool will have a big decision to make, because the current management aren’t uprooting trees. Once it’s in the blood, it’s hard to come by.” That’s it, isn’t it?
“So I look at it in a lot of ways. I think Jurgen Klopp subconsciously wants to go back to being a manager, but he managed Liverpool for a long time and obviously decided, ‘Yeah, time is up.’ Whether he would do it again – I don’t know – because it would take some energy to pick everything up again and start from scratch again. It would be tempting, but I’d say it’s more wishful thinking than reality.”
