The woman behind Jurgen Klopp's big decisions: Wife Ulla told Liverpool's manager he needed to leave his last job, talked him into signing his latest contract... and has made fears about the tolls of working in football clear

Jurgen Klopp will step down as Liverpool boss at the end of the seasonHis second wife Ulla Sandrock has been an influential voice in Klopp's career Klopp's departure LIVE: Follow Mail Sport's ongoing coverage on the Reds coach No Salah, no problem! Liverpool can thank Jurgen Klopp for an 'exceptional' squad rebuild - It's All Kicking Off

Jurgen Klopp’s wife Ulla Sandrock has been an influential voice behind some of the biggest decisions of his career.

Ulla has been credited with convincing the outgoing Liverpool boss to spurn the advances of Manchester United in 2013, leading to him taking over at Anfield two years later.

Klopp also cited her advice as behind his decision to extend his Liverpool contract two years ago. Previously, she had expressed concerns over the toll management was taking on her husband during his final season at Borussia Dortmund.

The Liverpool manager’s shock announcement that he will leave the club at the end of the season promises a new dawn for the couple, who live in the seaside town of Formby in a house previously owned by Steven Gerrard.

They made an instant impact on the local area after moving there in 2015, with Klopp regularly spotted at quiz nights in local pubs and offering to help teams with their answers.

Jurgen Klopp’s wife Ulla has been an influential voice during key moments in his career

Klopp, pictured with wife Ulla and their dog Emma in 2013, met his second wife in 2005

Meanwhile, back in April 2020, Ulla handed out £1,000 worth of food vouchers to Waitrose staff as a ‘thank you’ for working on the frontline.

She gave a total of 20 vouchers worth £50 each to each of the store’s workers who were on the shop floor at the time.

One staff member told the Liverpool Echo: ‘This was an incredible thing to do. 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.’

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Klopp had initially announced his decision to leave the Reds when his contract expired at the end of the 2024 season, before later signing an extension until 2026.

He admitted Ulla had been central to convincing him to extend his deal. As she had been for several big decisions during his managerial career.

‘There’s something to announce. Like last time some will like it, some will not like it too much. If you don’t like it, stop watching now,’ Klopp said after announcing his contract renewal in 2022.

‘I stay for another two years… and only me. No, all my coaches will as well, which is the most important actually.

‘Why? Is now the question. Because Ulla wants to stay and as a good husband what are you doing when your wife wants to stay? You are staying.’

‘The most important contract in my life I signed is the one with Ulla.

‘That’s where it started again. We sat in the kitchen at the table and Ulla said, ‘I can’t see us leaving in 2024.’

‘What is very important and is probably the most important – because I could not work against that and wouldn’t want to work against it – is that my family, in this case especially Ulla, she just loves it here.

‘If she would say, ‘Honestly, I love the football and I love watching it but I actually want to go home’, then we would go, that’s the truth. She started it and here we are.’

There seems no doubt that Ulla would have been a crucial voice in Klopp’s decision to leave Liverpool. Explaining his reasoning in a video message, the German said he was ‘running out of energy’ as he approaches a decade on Merseyside. 

Klopp claimed Ulla had been key to convincing him to extend his Liverpool contract in 2022

Ulla was claimed to have a ‘bad feeling’ about Klopp replacing Sir Alex Ferguson at Man United

Liverpool legend Phil Thompson claimed Ulla told Klopp to reject Man United’s 2013 approach

Klopp had reportedly been shortlisted to succeed Sir Alex Ferguson as Manchester United manager in 2013, with the club’s then executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward giving him a tour.

According to Liverpool legend Phil Thompson, Klopp decline the role after Ulla claimed she had a bad feeling about Man United.

‘I interviewed Klopp for Sky, and I asked if he and Liverpool were created for each other. He looked at me and asked ‘Why?’,’ Thompson told TV2 in Norway.

‘Then Klopp told me he could have taken over Manchester United, but his wife said it wasn’t right.

‘When Liverpool arrived, his wife said it was right. There is something strange there.’

‘It is as if he’s created for Liverpool.’

Klopp remained at Dortmund for two further seasons, before leaving in the summer of 2015. By October, the vacancy at Liverpool had opened up, and the German snatched at the opportunity to test himself in England.

Ulla had been given the title of The First Lady of Bundesliga in her home country due to her charity work in both Germany and Kenya.

She worked as a teacher and hospital worker in Nairobi for three years. She had settled in Mainz, western Germany, where Jurgen was living too, working as the manager of the city’s football club, Mainz 05.

Ulla is a children’s novelist, and her book Tom and the Magic Football, was published in 2008.

The story is about an 11-year-old boy who finds a magic football in his attic, which turns him into an talented footballer. She late wrote a sequel to the book in 2010, set in Africa.

‘It’s like Harry Potter but about football. there’s no flying on his f****** stick,’ Klopp said.

Ulla, left, is Klopp’s second wife with the couple marrying back in 2005

Ulla had been by Klopp’s side as he led Dortmund to consecutive titles in 2011 and 2012

Klopp previously revealed Ulla had expressed concerns over the toll of management on him during his final season in charge of Borussia Dortmund

Ulla at a match between Liverpool and Swansea on November 29, 2015

During Klopp’s time in charge of Dortmund, Ulla had expressed concerns over his wellbeing during his final season in 2015, having been in charge of the Bundesliga side for seven seasons.

Dortmund had been in the relegation zone in February, before recovering to finish seventh.

In an eBook, Reading the Game, Klopp revealed Ulla had claimed the pressure of the season had taken its toll on her husband following a win over Werder Bremen before Christmas that season.

‘We had to sit it out, dig deep, and hold on until the bell rang in Bremen at the end of the final match before the winter break. Then I went home and my wife said I’d finally completely lost it – because I was in an incredibly good mood, euphoric,’ Klopp said.

‘We’d just lost in Bremen, we were 17th or 18th in the table that evening, which meant we would be spending Christmas in the drop zone – and I got home and I felt like a new man. And that’s because I knew that now we had a chance to tackle our problems.

‘And luckily, when we did, we were successful. Our play, and the results, in the second half of the season were at or above expectations, although of course it didn’t feel that way because you’re still weighed down mentally by what happened before.’

Ulla is Klopp’s second wife, having had been married to Sabine Klopp for 12 years until they divorced in 2001. Klopp married Ulla in 2005.

The former social worker met Klopp at Munich’s Oktoberfest in 2005, where she was working as a waitress. They moved in together after knowing each other for just three days.

Klopp became a grandfather for the first time last year after Ulla’s son Dennis, left, had his first child

The couple have no children together, but both have sons from their respective first marriages.

Klopp has a son from his first marriage called Marc, who used to play for Borussia Dortmund before having to retire in 2015 due to a series of injuries. He became the stepfather to Ulla’s son Dennis following their wedding.

The Liverpool boss emotionally announced last March that he was set to become a grandad for the first time.

Speaking to the club ahead of pre-season in July, Klopp revealed he had the ‘perfect summer’ spending time with his grandchild.

‘Finally. I already look like one and now I am one, it’s cool,’ Klopp said when asked about becoming a grandfather.

‘No, it’s perfect. Absolutely perfect summer.

‘We both thought it was a blessing that we could be around for about four weeks, seeing him growing and all these kinds of things, going through all the first phases. Yes, only staying on the sideline, but being involved anyway.

‘So, it was really good. And everything is good. Mum is good, Dad is good and baby is good as well. It’s long ago that we were in that role, to be honest. But I can tell you, it’s like riding a bike. You don’t lose it so it was there immediately.

‘Again, it’s just beautiful. The most beautiful thing I experienced probably in the last 30-odd years. And to welcome such a little wonderful human being.’