Klopp set to replace Nagelsmann as Germany coach: reports

Julian Nagelsmann is reportedly being dismissed as Germany coach, the tabloid reports Image reported on Thursday, with former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp the favorite to take over the dugout.

The 38-year-old Nagelsmann has been under fire since Germany exited the World Cup in the last 32 years after a shock loss to Paraguay.

Showing photos of Nagelsmann at the headquarters of the German FA (DFB) in Frankfurt, Image reported Thursday that the coach had been offered a severance package of seven million euros ($8 million) to leave the position in a three-hour meeting.

Nagelsmann’s contract was last extended in January 2025 and runs until 2028.

Figures on his annual salary have not been made public, although German media report that he earns around seven million euros a year.

Germany’s penalty shootout loss to Paraguay marked the four-time champions’ third consecutive early exit from the World Cup, following group stage eliminations in Russia and Qatar.

Monday’s defeat was Germany’s first knockout match since winning the World Cup in Brazil in 2014.

On Tuesday, DFB chairman Bernd Neuendorf announced an immediate investigation into the World Cup failure.

A decision on Nagelsmann is expected «early next week at the latest», AFP sports subsidiary SID reported on Thursday.

Several German media outlets, including Sky and Munich daily Süddeutsche Zeitung, have said Klopp is the overwhelming favorite to succeed Nagelsmann.

Klopp stepped away from management after leaving Liverpool in 2024 and has since been appointed head of global football for energy drinks brand Red Bull, overseeing a multi-club network that includes clubs from Austria, Germany, Brazil, the United States and Japan.

Published on July 2, 2026