Leeds United manager Daniel Farke clarified the extent of Jürgen Klopp’s involvement with the Whites. The former Liverpool boss is now the Head of Global Soccer at Red Bull this month.
Klopp will oversee Red Bull’s global network of soccer clubs, focusing on long-term strategy rather than daily operations. His role will involve advising sporting directors to ensure alignment with Red Bull’s philosophy.
The 57-year-old will also significantly contribute to Red Bull’s global scouting efforts and help develop and train coaches across the network. Nonetheless, Farke noted that the German manager will have little impact on what transpires at Leeds.
“Not directly, because he was announced by Red Bull,” Farke said. “There are obviously a few Red Bull teams like in Leipzig, Salzburg, New York and so on. We are Leeds United and for that it is clear, he has a big impact on the Red Bull clubs and for us not that much.
“We are Leeds United and I think no one of our supporters would allow us to try and copy something or follow a similar philosophy. We are a pretty unique club and also have our own values, principles philosophy, our own way that we want to play.
“As far as I know, this is exactly what the 49ers are standing for. They know how special this club is and they don’t want to copy someone else and for that, we will always be Leeds United.”
Jürgen Klopp won’t have any impact at Leeds
Moreover, Everton’s former chief, Keith Wyness, believes that Klopp won’t have any impact at Leeds despite Red Bull being a minority owner.
“Red Bull are a minority investor in Leeds, so they won’t have much of a say in football strategy,” Wyness told Football Insider. “But if they did, it could become quite worrying for the powers at Leeds.
“Having someone like Klopp in there as the 66,000-pound gorilla trying to offer advice would be big. But as minority investors, they won’t have much say. It will be minor, if at all. They could increase their investment, which would increase their involvement.
“But at the moment, I don’t see him being involved in the Leeds strategy. It would be up to the club to ask for help rather than another voice and opinion being involved on different topics. It’s pretty hard to run a club by committee. The fewer people involved, the better. I don’t think we’ll see Jurgen at Elland Road very much.”
