Throughout the history of Liverpool FC, there have been few better leaders than Jurgen Klopp, and while he insists he could not be a politician, he knows what makes one.
Though his expertise is in football – and three league titles and a Champions League prove that – Klopp is often at his best when given a platform to speak on wider topics.
Joining Gabby Logan for her podcast The Mid-Point, then, the German was great value as he discussed the value of leadership and the problems in Western society.
In a long rant on the current political system, Klopp called out Donald Trump, Boris Johnson and Nigel Farage, criticising the popularity contest many elections have become.
“Obviously people with common sense are not needed – or used, at least – in this time,” he said.
“They should be, but what is the problem, the people we vote for or the whole system which gives us the opportunity to vote for these kinds of people?
“I really have to say that the last two elections, the first with Donald Trump and then with Boris Johnson, that’s really a bad sign for the whole world, that something like this can happen.
“Because everybody knew beforehand that it would not work, but we still let it happen as a society.
“I cannot believe that. But one is now gone, the other one struggles still. It’s incredible.”
He added: “We have to find a system where we can bring people in the position to sort all our problems, or help us with sorting the problems, who are the best possible people.
“And not the most funny or the weirdest haircut or whatever, you have to have the right people in that.
“[We should] not [be] voting for them and accepting for this specific amount of time that they are there now, and you look at it and go ‘oh my god, that’s not funny anymore’.”
While Logan attempted to turn the conversation towards a possible future as Klopp the politician, the Liverpool boss distanced himself from that topic.
“You need the right people – and for sure not someone like me who you like from television and has a slightly over-average intelligence,” he continued.
“But there are people out there, definitely, you just have to give them a platform so they can show up without leading us in that direction or that direction.”
Having lived in England since 2015, and with plans to stay until at least 2024, Klopp does have his opinions on who should not be leading the country.
“Why do we let people like Farage and Johnson lead any kind of group of people in any direction?” he said.
“And the day after [a problem] happens, they disappear – and one of them comes back!
“How can we forget? It’s like ‘where has he been?’, that’s absolutely insane. Then we sit here and think ‘it’s not that bad’…”
It really is, unfortunately. As an outsider looking in, Klopp has absolutely nailed it.
