Jurgen Klopp has defended his decision to head the group of football clubs at "Red Bull" ;, saying he "didn't want to step on anyone's toes" after his decision sparked a backlash from fans of his former teams in Germany, Topsport reported.
Klopp takes over as head of global football at the drinks company from January in what is seen as a surprise move. This will be his first job since leaving Liverpool at the end of last season.
"I didn't want to step on anyone's toes, definitely not, and personally I love all my former clubs," Klopp said in an interview published on Wednesday on a podcast hosted by former Real Madrid and Germany midfielder Toni Kroos.
Klopp suggested any decision he made to coach another club would also disappoint some fans. "I really don't know what exactly I could have done to make everyone happy," he said.
"Red Bull" and especially his team RB Leipzig are widely frowned upon by many German soccer fans who view the drinks company as an unwanted corporate presence trying to buy success.
Fans of Klopp's former clubs such as Borussia Dortmund criticized the move, and Mainz 05 fans held up banners this month expressing their disappointment and questioning whether he was "crazy".
Klopp spent 18 years at Mainz 05 as a player and coach before joining Dortmund in 2008, where he led the club to two Bundesliga titles and a Champions League final.
Klopp said he had never looked "so critically" of the participation of "Red Bull" in football and suggested that it played an important role in the return of high-level club football in the former East Germany with the RB Leipzig project.
The specialist said he plans to take a "long break" from football after leaving Liverpool, where he coached his last game in May after nine years at the club.
"I'm 57 so I can still work for a few more years, but for now I don't see myself on the sidelines as a coach. But it was always clear that I wasn't going to do anything. And then this story with Red Bull came into the picture and for me it's extraordinary", he added.
Klopp said he sees his role at "Red Bull" primarily as an 'advisor', working alongside coaches at the drinks giant's backed clubs. "I have always felt that the coach is very, very often the loneliest person in the club," he said.