A German soccer expert predicted that Jurgen Klopp becoming USMNT head coach would be "impossible" after claiming that the coaches of the United States' men's and women's national teams must be paid equally - but this assertion does not seem to reflect reality .
The legendary former Liverpool manager left his post at the end of the most recent Premier League season after nine glorious years in charge at Anfield. Having won practically every major honor on offer during an era of plenty on Merseyside, the 57-year-old departed after admitting that he no longer had "the energy" to continue.
Confirming what has been widely accepted to be a sabbatical from the game, he subsequently acknowledged that he would not rule out working again in the future. Despite his assertions at the end of his time with the Reds, ex-Chelsea star Sebastian Kneissl is among those touting him to call time on his break and potentially take up a new job as head coach of the U.S, while former American international Tim Howard also expressed his desire to see Klopp manage the side .
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Discussing the prospect of the charismatic coach eventually potentially succeeding current incumbent Gregg Berhalter in the USMNT hotseat, German soccer expert Constantin Eckner said on TalkSport : "I don’t doubt it. I don’t believe he will be the United States national head coach though because it’s almost impossible.
"They introduced an equal pay policy last year and Emma Hayes– who is managing the United States women’s team – is receiving $2million a year which means that Klopp would also earn $2million per year," he continued, in a claim that has since been debunked. "I don’t believe that’s an offer he will take."
The claim that bosses of the U.S. men's and women's teams earn the same amount is erroneous, as the aforementioned Berhalter's salary demonstrated, when compared with former USWNT head coach Vlatko Andonovski and new one Emma Hayes. In 2022, the former took home three times more than the latter, showing that the assertion is incorrect. Hayes now earns closer to what Berhalter does - though not quite as much.
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Rather, the equality in terms of pay actually relates to the prize money accrued by players on the United States' men's and women's teams - including during appearances at World Cups - and not head coaches. This came after collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) were struck on issues including appearance fees, bonuses and performance payments.
Either way, Klopp's coyness on the likelihood that he will coach again does appear to suggest that the prospect of him returning to the touchline could be some way off. In addition, the ability for U.S. Soccer to come close to matching the $26m base salary he earned at Anfield does remain to be seen.
After announcing his resignation at Liverpool , he acknowledged: "If you ask me, ‘Will you ever work as a manager again?’ I would say now no. But I don’t know obviously how that will feel because I never had the situation. What I know definitely – I will never, ever manage a different club in England than Liverpool, 100 percent. That’s not possible.
"Will I ever work again? Of course, I know myself, I cannot just sit around. I will find something else maybe to do. But I will not manage a club or a country at least for a year, that’s not possible, I cannot do that and I don’t want to."
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