Jürgen Klopp and DFB: Contract Length and Higher Salary than Nagelsmann? First Meeting Scheduled

The first concrete steps towards the DFB bringing Jürgen Klopp on board as the new national coach appear to be scheduled. According to Sky, the DFB leadership, including President Bernd Neuendorf and Vice-President Hans-Joachim Watzke, who is a confidant of Klopp, will arrive in the USA on Thursday. Klopp is currently in the USA as an expert for MagentaTV and will remain there until the end of the World Cup.

Sky reports that the first rounds of negotiations between the DFB bosses and Klopp, along with his advisor Marc Kosicke, are planned for Friday and Saturday. Several important points are to be discussed, including the contract duration. According to Sky, the DFB would prefer a contract running until the 2030 World Cup.

Regarding salary, the DFB will certainly need to stretch. Sky reports that Klopp earns a fixed annual salary of nine to ten million euros in his current role as Head of Global Soccer at Red Bull. It is understood that the DFB would need to convince Klopp with at least a similar salary, with figures of ten million euros being mentioned.

This would mean the 59-year-old would earn significantly more than his predecessor, Julian Nagelsmann, who resigned after the early World Cup exit in the round of 16 against Paraguay. Nagelsmann reportedly received around seven million euros annually, and in the course of their separation, the DFB and the 38-year-old likely agreed on paying him 6.8 million euros as severance pay, which is slightly less than one of the two annual salaries Nagelsmann was contractually entitled to. The contract of the now former DFB coach would have been valid until the European Championship 2028.

DFB Plan: Agreement with Klopp First, then Negotiations with Red Bull

The discussions with Klopp, who has already signaled his fundamental willingness to take on the national coach position, will also address the influence the former BVB and Liverpool coach would have within the DFB beyond the senior national team. Furthermore, it needs to be clarified which assistant coaches Klopp would want by his side.

According to Sky, the German Football Association's plan is clear: to primarily focus on reaching an agreement with Klopp. Only after that will they engage in concrete discussions with Red Bull to free their preferred candidate from his contract, which is reportedly valid until the end of 2029.

Oliver Mintzlaff, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of RB Leipzig, is also expected to travel to the USA next week for negotiations with the DFB. In principle, Red Bull is reportedly willing to let Klopp out of his contract and not obstruct his aspiration to take on the role of national coach. Nevertheless, Red Bull naturally expects fair solutions from the DFB in return.

"I also have to talk to my boss, Oliver Mintzlaff. German football is close to his heart. Red Bull needs to come out of this cleanly. It's not that easy to exit," Klopp recently emphasized on MagentaTV.

With Jürgen Klopp on the Sidelines? Germany's Next International Matches

Date	Competition	Match
September 24	Nations League	Netherlands vs. Germany
September 27	Nations League	Germany vs. Greece
October 1	Nations League	Germany vs. Serbia
October 4	Nations League	Greece vs. Germany
November 13	Nations League	Serbia vs. Germany
November 16	Nations League	Germany vs. Netherlands