Ratcliffe Dismisses Klopp Claim with Laughter and Delivers Subtle Dig at Liverpool

Sir Jim Ratcliffe is not expected to reach out to Jurgen Klopp regarding the managerial position at Manchester United, replacing Erik ten Hag. Klopp is set to depart from his role as Liverpool manager at the end of the season, concluding a highly successful tenure of eight and a half years. Speculation regarding Klopp's next move has been rife, with some suggesting he may take over the German national team after Euro 2024, succeeding Julian Nagelsmann.

Despite Erik ten Hag's position as Manchester United manager coming under pressure following the INEOS takeover, Jurgen Klopp is not being considered as a potential replacement. Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who has taken over sporting control of United with a 27.7 percent stake, discussed his plans on The Geraint Thomas Cycling Club podcast.

While discussing his favorite United team, Ratcliffe eventually touched upon Liverpool and Klopp. “I suppose that 1999 team,” he said. “I was there in Barcelona for that. We should never have won it – we won it in the last three minutes. We didn’t have Roy Keane or Paul Scholes, who I would say were the most significant players in the team.

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“You saw it recently when Man City didn’t have [Erling] Haaland or [Kevin] De Bruyne – the wheels did come off a little bit for Pep [Guardiola]. And yet we won that tournament in 1999 without Keane and Scholes, and you know, you’ve got to attribute quite a bit of that to Alex [Ferguson]. He was such a driver of his players, a great, great coach.

“I didn’t actually see the match, but I read quite a bit about the ‘Northern Derby’ between Liverpool and City at the weekend. One of the commentaries I read was that only three or four of the Liverpool players would get into the Manchester City team, but Klopp has this ability to drive his players to a frenzy hasn’t he? Total commitment on the pitch. And, you know, that’s one of the things a good coach can do.”

During the podcast, Geraint Thomas mentioned that Jurgen Klopp would soon be leaving Liverpool, to which Sir Jim Ratcliffe acknowledged it as a significant change for the club. When Thomas asked if he would call Klopp, Ratcliffe swiftly responded, "You can't ask questions like that, Geraint!"

Despite being a lifelong Manchester United fan, Ratcliffe has made it clear that his decision-making will not be influenced by his allegiance. Alongside INEOS' head of sport, Sir Dave Brailsford, Ratcliffe has embarked on a mission to transform the club's management structure. They have appointed Omar Berrada as chief executive and are also actively seeking to recruit Dan Ashworth, the sporting director of Newcastle United.

Ratcliffe, 71, has previously expressed his criticism of United's transfer market activities and has confirmed his intention to approach future transfer windows differently. He emphasized that the solution does not solely lie in spending large sums of money on a couple of star players.

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