Where next for Jurgen Klopp? Barcelona, Germany and the Liverpool manager's future options - ranked

All is not well at Bayern Munich at the moment, with the Bavarians rather surprisingly playing catch-up in the Bundesliga while pressure mounts on Thomas Tuchel, who has publicly admitted that he feels as if he is more respected in England than his native Germany.

Therefore, it would not come as a surprise to see Tuchel leave the Allianz Arena at some point this year, perhaps paving the way for Klopp to take over his nation's biggest club.

Goalkeeper Manuel Neuer has already admitted that he believes that Klopp is "definitely a potential candidate who could work for Bayern at some point - but whether he wants to do that is of course his business." And that's the key here. It's hard to see the Bayern job appealing to Klopp. Taking over a winning machine is just not his style.

As he said back in 2022, "I could have gone to Bayern a few times, I could have won more titles in my life, pretty sure I would say – a good chance at least. I didn't do it. and that's completely fine. The world is not full of winners, the world is full of triers. I try and sometimes I win with some other people together. I am happy with that. If we are all only happy when we are really winning, in the end, when your race finishes, what kind of life would that be?"

So, this rumour just doesn't add up, particularly when one considers Klopp's Borussia Dortmund connection - and the fact that he once compared Bayern to a Bond villain!

Could the next permanent boss at Roma after Jose Mourinho really be Klopp? Il Messaggero certainly seems to think so, with the Italian newspaper claiming that the Giallorossi are hoping to convince the departing Liverpool boss to move to Stadio Olimpico this summer.

Roma's interest is certainly plausible, given this is a struggling club with a massive and passionate fan base that were so desperate for success that they were willing to put up with Mourinho's unique brand of anti-football for nearly three years. Imagine how much they'd love Klopp, who not only wins trophies but also generates excitement!

However, while it's the kind of challenge a fully-motivated Klopp would relish, Roma don't really have the resources to make this happen, while it's doubtful that he'd really be willing to take on such an onerous task right after leaving Liverpool.

In addition, interim boss Daniele De Rossi has made a winning start to his tenure and the club legend could end up being given the job on a permanent basis if he were to secure a top-four finish in Serie A - something Mourinho never managed.

Not long after Klopp dropped his bombshell on Friday morning, former Liverpool winger Jermaine Pennant told Lord Ping, "I think 100 percent he’s got Real Madrid in his sights... You have [Kylian] Mbappe going there, they have [Jude] Bellingham, so it could be Real Madrid."

There's also the fact that Carlo Ancelotti has just signed an extension that will keep him at the Santiago Bernabeu until 2026, meaning Klopp could take the lengthy break he says he needs before returning to coaching. After all, it's not like his stock is going to fall while he's on sabbatical. His resume speaks for itself.

Again, though, it's so hard to envisage Klopp wanting to manage Madrid. We're talking about an even more successful club than Bayern, so, prestige aside, it just doesn't make sense right now either.

The day after Klopp announced he was "running out of energy" at Liverpool, Xavi revealed that the Barcelona job had taken a "terrible" toll on his morale and mental health and he, too, would be quitting his post at the end of the season. As well as provoking an outpouring of sympathy for the midfield icon, the revelation also sparked speculation that Klopp might move to Catalunya this summer.

Restoring Barca to their former glory would certainly appear a more attractive task to Klopp than leading Madrid to yet another Champions League title, while it's also been reported that the 56-year-old is Joan Laporta's 'dream' appointment.

However, there are a couple of major obstacles here: money and timing. Could Barca cobble together enough money to both hire Klopp on a decent wage and strengthen the squad to his liking? Perhaps. Laporta could maybe start pulling levers again. It would be an even riskier move than before, though.

But the main thing here is that Klopp immediately moving into one of the most high-pressured positions in world football just doesn't tally with his desire to take a break. So, while Klopp could well manage Barca one day, there seems little chance of him going there this summer.

Pep Guardiola is one of the many leading figures within the game that is in absolutely no doubt that Klopp will manager again sooner or later.

"Maybe it is an opinion that he will not admit, but I know he will be back, I know it," the Manchester City boss said. "Maybe in 10 years' time. He may need to recharge his energy. But with his personality and his energy, he will be back. National team, another club, I don't know, but football needs personalities like him."

No arguments there, of course, but there is a chance that Klopp may never return. “If you ask me, ‘Will you ever work as a manager again?’ I would say now no," he confessed to Liverpool's official media channel last Friday. "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%. That’s not possible. My love for this club, my respect for the people is too big. I couldn’t. I couldn’t for a second think about it. There’s no chance. This is part of my life, we are part of the family, we feel home here. There’s no chance to do that.

"But all the rest, 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. That’s all.”

The role that Klopp is most likely to take next - and by some distance. Remember, current Germany boss Julian Nagelsmann is only under contract until the end of Euro 2024 and, no matter how that tournament goes, the 36-year-old is expected to step down immediately after in order to return to coaching at club level.

Would Klopp really just want one summer off before getting back to work? Perhaps not. He really does sound like he wants an extended break from football. However, the international game is nowhere near as tough on managers, who have plenty of time off in between matches. Taking over the national team would also allow him to work from home.

Furthermore, the German Football Association (DFB) vice-president Ronny Zimmermann has already admitted that he would love to work with the country's top manager.

"I don't think we need to talk about the fact that Jurgen Klopp is a brilliant coach," he told reporters on Saturday. "We also don't have to talk about the fact that he could also be a candidate for national coach. But the time for making wishes like these was Christmas. After the European Championship, we will talk about the national coach and not about what we might wish for. But I could well live with Jurgen Klopp, like many others I think..."

In short, the job is there for Klopp if he wants it. The only question is whether he thinks the summer is too soon for him.