Jurgen Klopp has already made his stance abundantly clear about the prospect of managing Chelsea or any other Premier League club following his exit from Liverpool in 2024. Liam Rosenior became the latest Blues manager to be shown the door when he was sacked on Wednesday. It came after a woeful 3-0 thrashing by Brighton at the Amex on Tuesday night.
That loss marked Chelsea‘s fifth straight Premier League defeat, all without scoring a single goal. It is understood the club’s sporting hierarchy convened discussions on Wednesday to assess Rosenior’s position, which eventually led to his dismissal. The 41-year-old, appointed fewer than four months ago on a six-year deal, was originally due to have his performance assessed at the end of next season. That schedule, though, has been brought forward.
Cesc Fabregas, Filipe Luis, Andoni Iraola and Diego Simeone lead the bookmakers’ odds to succeed Rosenior at Stamford Bridge. One individual who doesn’t appear particularly high on such lists is Jurgen Klopp – and for good reason.
The former Liverpool manager has already outlined his stance on taking the reins at another Premier League outfit, had the board contemplated his name. After announcing his departure from Anfield, the German stressed: “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.”
Despite persistent outside noise and ongoing speculation, Klopp has made it clear that he has no appetite for the relentless daily demands of football management.
He admitted to feeling settled and fulfilled in his current role within the Red Bull Group. “I don’t miss being in the dressing room, I coached something like 1,080 games so I was in a dressing room often,” he added. “I don’t want to die in a dressing room because it’s nice, it smells.
“There might be something, I’m 58, I could make the decision in a few years, I don’t know. Do I have to make the decision today that I will not coach again but thank god I don’t have to, I can just see what the future brings.
“Now I’m in a project I really love, I like doing what I’m doing right now. In my mind, only if I’m focused 100 percent, I can do it really good.”