Jurgen Klopp declines first Leeds United test in official Red Bull unveiling as tight-lipped 'Dr Football'

Leeds are one of several football clubs around the world in which Red Bull GmbH hold an ownership stake, however, the Whites' arrangement with the Austrian company differs somewhat to the others.

Whilst the likes of FC Red Bull Salzburg, RB Leipzig, Red Bull Bragantino, New York Red Bulls and RB Omiya Ardija all bear the company nomenclature - or at least an initialised version to circumvent rules prohibiting clubs named after corporate entities - Leeds have no such naming affiliation to Red Bull who are believed to own just under 10 per cent of the club.

United chairman Paraag Marathe, of 49ers Enterprises, has reiterated that despite Red Bull's public connection to Leeds, there are no plans to rename the side or tamper with the history of the club which has played at Elland Road under its current name since its inception in 1919.

Last year, ex-Liverpool boss Klopp was named Red Bull's new head of global soccer and on Tuesday, January 14, hosted his first official press conference in that role.

While particulars surrounding his new position were obscure at best, Klopp made clear he would not be taking charge of any Red Bull clubs in a coaching capacity now or in the future. In undertaking his new role, the German suggested his influence would extend to all football clubs within the Red Bull network, which does include Leeds. However, the Whites were not on Klopp's agenda, potentially because they remain separate to the clubs in Leipzig, Salzburg, New York, Japan, Brazil and Paris.

“I want to give people wings,” Klopp said. “I saw 47,000 supporters there, and 42,000 of them were supporting Leipzig, and I thought, ‘Do they not deserve good football?’

"I really feel they deserve it - in Salzburg, in New York, in Brazil. They deserve support and improvement. Football can give you positive vibes for a city and region. I love that fact.

“A doctor doesn’t differentiate when a patient is coming from a different city. A lawyer doesn’t either.

“If you like, I’m Doctor Football. I love helping wherever I can, where I can give my all,” Klopp added.

It appears from the outside that Klopp's function will be in an information and expertise-sharing capacity, mentoring coaches at Red Bull clubs and bringing his ideas to the table whilst overseeing the network as a whole. How closely he plans to work with Leeds remains to be seen as he was not questioned on that at the press conference in Salzburg.

"[I want] “to share my experience, support people, and help them become the best version of themselves. We want to be the best we can be, in each department, at each club," Klopp said, however, he was reluctant to go into specifics.

“If you tell the outside world your ideas, they will ask you every day: ‘Where are [they]?.’”

It is expected that the sharing of best practices and player information will pass across the desks of those situated at Elland Road, although Red Bull's true influence at Leeds is unclear, aside from what has previously been made public.

Leeds could find themselves part of a new, altogether separate multi-club network if 49ers Enterprises are successful in acquiring and establishing links with clubs in other countries. Late last year, technical director Gretar Steinsson left his role at Elland Road to take up a new, similar position within the 49ers' internal structure. It is understood Steinsson's new role will be as sporting director for the prospective network the 49ers hope to institute.

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