Jurgen Klopp's wife played huge role in Liverpool decision as Anfield return confirmed

Jurgen Klopp is set to return to Anfield as part of Liverpool Legends' management team against Borussia Dortmund in a charity match, with his wife Ulla previously convincing him to extend his stay at the club

Jurgen Klopp and his wife Ulla returned to Liverpool at the end of last season(Image: Carl Recine/Getty Images)

Jurgen Klopp's forthcoming return to Anfield will hold different significance for various people. For the manager's wife Ulla, however, it will represent an opportunity to revisit a city she truly embraced as home.

Klopp departed Liverpool at the conclusion of the 2023/24 season, passing the baton to Arne Slot. He has vowed never to manage another Premier League side but has remained within the football sphere, taking up a role as Red Bull's global head of soccer in 2025.

The German made his initial Anfield comeback at the close of the 2024/25 campaign to observe Slot's champions after they had already secured the Premier League title. Now, he is poised to follow that with a return to the technical area he occupied for nearly nine years.

Klopp will team up with Sir Kenny Dalglish as part of the coaching staff for a Liverpool Legends squad when they face another of his former clubs, Borussia Dortmund, in a charity fixture for the LFC Foundation at the end of March. He serves as an honorary ambassador for the club's official charity and will oversee a team featuring former Reds captain Steven Gerrard, reports the Liverpool Echo.

Ulla Sandrock, who has been wed to Klopp since 2005, devoted her time and resources to the local community throughout the time her husband served as manager at Anfield.

Her contributions included a significant donation to Formby Community Football Club during the 2020 lockdown, and her generosity extended beyond that.

Former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp with wife Ulla Sandrock in 2025(Image: Gisela Schober/Getty Images)

Previously, the Liverpool Echo reported that she also distributed £1,000 (around $1,375) worth of food vouchers to supermarket workers during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The gesture served as appreciation for those who assisted her at her local Waitrose branch in Formby and was divided equally amongst several staff members.

"This was an incredible thing to do," a staff member was quoted as saying.

"Typically, Ulla didn't want to make a fuss, or receive any recognition, and just wanted people working in shops to get the recognition they deserve."

Klopp and his wife established Formby as their residence and were frequently seen at neighborhood pubs.

This bond with the city meant Liverpool's manager had to carefully weigh his decision to depart Anfield following Ulla's influence, and indeed acknowledged her for persuading him to remain in the dugout for as long as he did.

"The most important contract I signed in my life was the one with Ulla," Klopp said in 2022 after extending his contract until 2026.

"And that's why it started again, because actually we sat at the kitchen table and Ulla said, 'I can't see us leaving in 2024.'

"I said, 'What?' That's how it all started and when that started I thought, 'Let's have a think.'" Whilst he did eventually depart his position in 2024, Klopp will be returning in the very near future.