England are very happy with the Thomas Tuchel outcome but it was Pep Guardiola rather than Jurgen Klopp who they chased
Jurgen Klopp was in demand(Image: Ronny HARTMANN / AFP via Getty Images)
Jurgen Klopp could have become England manager, according to his agent. But it was Klopp’s main rival, Pep Guardiola, who was far closer to getting the job.
Far, far closer, in fact. Guardiola will go down with Sir Alex Ferguson, Arsene Wenger and Jose Mourinho as the ones who got away after being tapped up to become England boss.
Klopp’s agent Marc Kosicke set the hare running when he said that Chelsea, Manchester United and even England were interested in appointing the former Liverpool boss after he quit Anfield in the summer of 2024.
Kosicke, in an interview with German website Transfermarkt, said: “Before joining Red Bull, Jurgen could have coached the USA or England. Probably also Germany, if Julian Nagelsmann hadn’t already been there.
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“Even Chelsea and Manchester United inquired, although Jurgen had clearly stated that he would not coach any other club in England. These enquiries keep coming.”
Let’s be clear: United and Chelsea have both denied offering Klopp the job. In fairness, one agent’s enquiry is another’s job offer.
Making a phone call to gauge interest does not really constitute being offered the job. But if someone like Klopp says yes then the FA would surely have followed up.
But the timing was wrong because Klopp wanted a break, later took a job with Red Bull and, in the summer of 2024, the German also distanced himself from the England job.
There were headlines and Klopp was asked about it even though he said he needed a total break after Liverpool. Klopp said at the time doing a U-turn and taking it would be “the biggest loss of face in the history of football.”
But the Football Association were seeking out a big name and clearly Thomas Tuchel fitted that bill while it was Guardiola who also kept them dangling over his future.
Guardiola admitted in October 2024 that his future was “not decided” and at that stage the FA had reached out to him.
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Wanted man: Jurgen Klopp(Image: PA)
Appointing the Manchester City was clearly something that appealed and would have an incredible coup in international football. Guardiola was the big Premier League name they sought but could not land rather than Klopp.
That story also has similarities from the days when Ferguson revealed in his book that he turned down England TWICE in 1999 and then 2001.
“There was no way I could manage England. Think of me going back to Scotland! Deary me,” laughed Ferguson.
Wenger turned it down before Sven Goran Eriksson took the job in 2001. The joke was that former Arsenal vice chairman David Dein, then a powerful figure at the FA, sought out Eriksson because he did not want to lose Wenger.
Similarly, former Chelsea boss Mourinho says he was presented with the job offer before Fabio Capello took over in 2007. “I had it there on the table,” recalled the Special One in 2004. But Mourinho said he wanted to concentrate on club football.
And you can add Guardiola to that list more than Klopp because that one never got past first base.
However, Tuchel has come in and done a very good job. And last week, announced he has signed on for another two years until 2028.
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