England are very happy with Thomas Tuchel’s result, but it was Pep Guardiola who chased him, not Jurgen Klopp
Jurgen Klopp was in demand (Image: Ronny HARTMANN / AFP via Getty Images)
Jurgen Klopp could become England manager, according to his agent. But it was Klopp’s arch-rival Josep Guardiola who came much closer to the job.
Much, much closer, in fact. Guardiola will be leaving the team along with Sir Alex Ferguson, Arsene Wenger and Jose Mourinho, who fled the team after being appointed England manager.
Klopp’s agent Marc Kosicke has run a rabbit hole by saying Chelsea, Manchester United and even England are interested in appointing the former Liverpool manager, who leaves Anfield in the summer of 2024.
“Before joining Red Bull, Jurgen could have been a coach in America or England,” Kosicke said in an interview with German website Transfermarkt. “If Julian Nagelsmann wasn’t already there, he probably could have coached in Germany as well.”
read more: Liverpool icon Jurgen Klopp gets new job after Manchester United take issue with response to ‘offer’
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“There were also inquiries from Chelsea and Manchester United, but Jurgen had made it clear that he would not coach any other club in England. These inquiries are still ongoing.”
To be clear, both United and Chelsea have ruled out offers for Klopp. To be fair, one agent’s inquiry is another agent’s job offer.
Making a phone call to gauge interest doesn’t actually mean a job offer. But if someone like Klopp had said yes, the FA would definitely have followed up.
However, the timing was wrong as Klopp wanted a break and later took up a job at Red Bull, with the German also away from the England job in the summer of 2024.
It made headlines and Klopp was asked about it despite saying he needed a complete rest after Liverpool. Manager Klopp said at the time that choosing to make a U-turn would be “the biggest loss of face in the history of football.”
But the Football Association was looking for big names, and while Thomas Tuchel clearly fit the bill, it was Guardiola who had his future at stake.
Guardiola admitted in October 2024 that his future was “undecided” and the FA had contacted him at that stage.
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Wanted man: Jurgen Klopp (Image: PA)
Manchester City’s appointment is clearly an attractive one and would bring an incredibly dramatic change to international football. The big name in the Premier League they were looking for was Guardiola, not Klopp, but they were unable to land him.
The story also has similarities to when Ferguson revealed in his book that he twice turned down England players, in 1999 and 2001.
“There was no way I could manage England. Think about me going back to Scotland! Dear me,” Ferguson laughed.
Wenger turned down the offer before Sven-Goran Eriksson took the job in 2001. The joke was that David Dein, then Arsenal’s former vice-chairman and influential free agent, sought out Eriksson because he didn’t want to lose Wenger.
Similarly, former Chelsea manager Mourinho said he was offered a job offer before Fabio Capello took over as manager in 2007. “It was on the table,” Special One recalled in 2004. But Mourinho said he wanted to focus on club football.
And Guardiola can be added to that list better than Klopp. Because Guardiola never went beyond first base.
But Tuchel came in and did a very good job. Last week, he announced that he had signed a two-year contract until 2028.
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