Jurgen Klopp to return to Liverpool? Legendary manager won't 'risk his legacy' to save Reds, claims former Anfield striker

Klopp severed ties with Liverpool in 2024, as he decided to cut his contract short and enjoy a welcome break from the stresses of management. Time has been spent doing just that as Global Head of Soccer for Red Bull.

The 58-year-old has offered no indication that he is considering a return to coaching, but others are happy to do that talking for him. It has been claimed that Klopp could be coerced into bringing a two-year hiatus to a close if the right offer were to be tabled.

Real Madrid have been linked with an approach, as they seek a permanent successor to Xabi Alonso, while questions are being asked of whether Slot could survive if Liverpool were to miss out on Champions League qualification - just 12 months on from delivering the Premier League title.

Quizzed on whether Klopp would be intrigued by or wary of a retracing of steps to Anfield, ex-Reds striker Heskey - speaking in association with Freespins.us - told GOAL: “I think it would be a risk to his legacy. I think if he really wants to get back into it, he'd probably look to go somewhere else.

“Why risk that? It would always be a shadow over every manager. We've seen it down the road with Sir Alex [Ferguson] at Manchester United. How long ago was that? Over 10 years. That's still a shadow hanging over them. The manager has to figure out how to get the best out of his players in the formation that he wants and it fits the way Liverpool are.”

Heskey’s fellow former Liverpool striker, Stan Collymore, is another that doubts a deal for Klopp will be done in 2026. He has previously told GOAL of what would need to happen in order for a reunion to take place: “Unless it was a case of, in the summer, Jurgen Klopp says ‘I’m coming back to football and Liverpool is the only club for me’ - which would undoubtedly prick the ears of the Liverpool board. If he said ‘I’m coming back but I want a new challenge’, I don’t think the Liverpool hierarchy would go chasing for him. I think they would give Arne Slot the opportunity to be able to get it right, because he has won the league in his first season.”

While Heskey and Collymore are not convinced by the talk of an emotional return for Klopp, another ex-Red - cult hero Gary McAllister - has told GOAL: “You can never say never on things like that. When I watched him when he was managing Dortmund, the rapport with the Yellow Wall and how it's a big industrial city, Dortmund, and he was just custom made for that type of job - the city he was in, the fans he was working for, and the fans he was trying to please. Then you roll the years forward and he comes to Liverpool and again, it's the perfect storm. Again, for me, you've got a charismatic leader, somebody with a very massive personality, feels the same way as the Kop. Again, very similar to the Yellow Wall at Dortmund.

“For me, it's always very difficult to go back to somewhere where you’ve been unbelievably successful. But you can never say never. It's a crazy game and it's getting crazier as we speak. But for me, I think the game in general misses Jurgen Klopp.

“He's obviously got the ability to spend more time with family and stuff, because you know how demanding management is. So the job that he's in at the moment, I'm assuming it gives him more time to be with family. But people who are involved in football just love being on the grass at a training ground. I'd like to see him back wherever it is, because I think the game in general has missed him.”

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