Oliver Mintzlaff does not want to expand Red Bull's network of soccer clubs for the time being. "We have enough teams. There are no plans to buy any more," said the beverage group's CEO. As recently as October, the company acquired a stake in the French second division club FC Paris, and in the summer it took over the Japanese club Omiya Ardija from Saitama, which was recently promoted to the second division.
In addition, RB Leipzig, the Brazilian first division club Bragantino and New York belong to the group, and it has a minority stake in Leeds United. Salzburg is the official main sponsor, while Atlético Madrid and FC Torino are minor sponsors.
Piece of the puzzle Klopp was missing Red Bull
The new global head of soccer Jürgen Klopp is responsible for the club network. The potential acquisition of new clubs is not part of his remit; that is the responsibility of Mintzlaff. "That will land on my desk at some point. I'll probably find out five minutes before it's announced," said Klopp at his presentation.
The 57-year-old is expected to take RB soccer to a new level, with the teams winning titles. "That's what was missing in our soccer commitments, someone with this experience and this knowledge," said Mintzlaff. In addition, Klopp should convince players courted by RB clubs and help with his input. That would bring up to an additional five percent. "That's a lot in high-performance sport," said former athlete Mintzlaff.
The fact that someone like Klopp was missing in the RB cosmos was something the ex-coach felt himself in his first week as Head of Global Soccer. "I've been the oldest person in the room at every meeting so far," said Klopp. Should he say goodbye one day, he hopes people will say "that it was a fantastic time, that we enjoyed it."
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