Leeds United investors Red Bull are not afraid of making enemies in football. But even by their standards, naming Jurgen Klopp as their head of global soccer was controversial.
For many supporters, Red Bull’s proliferation of the multi-club model makes them something of a pantomime villain, with their network now encompassing seven clubs in total.
Leeds United are one of the newest addition to the energy drinks titans’ portfolio after they bought an as yet unspecified equity stake from 49ers Enterprises in the summer.
Since that deal went through, they have continued to beat their chest in the world of football, Red Bull signing commercial deals with no fewer than six Premier League clubs.
That puts them in the unusual position of potentially providing finance for clubs who, if Daniel Farke’s side win promotion this season, will be Leeds’ direct rivals in 2025-26.
| Position | Team | Played MP | Won W | Drawn D | Lost L | For GF | Against GA | Diff GD | Points Pts |
| 1 |  SunderlandSunderland | 15 | 9 | 4 | 2 | 25 | 11 | 14 | 31 |
| 2 |  Sheff UtdSheffield Utd | 15 | 10 | 3 | 2 | 19 | 7 | 12 | 31 |
| 3 |  LeedsLeeds | 15 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 24 | 9 | 15 | 29 |
| 4 |  BurnleyBurnley | 15 | 7 | 6 | 2 | 18 | 6 | 12 | 27 |
| 5 |  West BromWest Brom | 15 | 6 | 7 | 2 | 16 | 9 | 7 | 25 |
| 6 |  WatfordWatford | 15 | 8 | 1 | 6 | 23 | 22 | 1 | 25 |
| 7 |  MiddlesbroughMiddlesbrough | 15 | 7 | 3 | 5 | 23 | 17 | 6 | 24 |
| 8 |  MillwallMillwall | 15 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 18 | 13 | 5 | 23 |
| 9 |  BlackburnBlackburn | 15 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 19 | 17 | 2 | 22 |
| 10 |  Bristol CityBristol City | 15 | 5 | 7 | 3 | 20 | 19 | 1 | 22 |
But by far their biggest and most divisive move in recent times has been to appoint Jurgen Klopp as head of global soccer, a new role that will see the former Liverpool boss oversee the group’s football strategy.
Klopp’s associations with Borussia Dortmund and Mainz, as well as his previous comments slating the multi-club model, mean the move has not gone down at all well in some quarters.
But the German, like many of football’s biggest brains in recent times, is clearly attracted to the idea of pulling the strings implementing a grand vision at multiple clubs simultaneously.
And one of the 57-year-old first duties in his new role has now been revealed.
Jurgen Klopp to jet out to Japan in new Red Bull role
In October, Red Bull made Omiya Ardija the latest addition their multi-club stable.
The club have spent the bulk of their history in the Japanese top flight but a fallow period in recent years has seen them drop down the divisions.
Shortly after Red Bull’s investment was announced, Ardija won promotion back to the second tier – and the new owners have characteristically big plans for their future.
Fan sentiment in a city of over a million people towards the takeover has been mixed, as is the case almost every time Red Bull buy into a new club.
Red Bull have said they will not change the club’s colours, but they have now changed the badge to what is effectively a carbon copy of RB Leipzig’s logo.
The club’s name has also changed its name to RB Omiya Ardija.
In the latest developments, an article from Tokyo Sports has relayed that Red Bull managing director Oliver Mintzlaff has confirmed that Klopp will soon visit the company’s latest club.
“He will be coming to Japan in January next year to discuss various matters. I think it will be of great interest to him. First of all, he will inspect the team,” Mintzlaff said.
Full takeover? What Red Bull are planning at Leeds United
Red Bull’s equity stake in Leeds is not known, with the only information available being that the brand acquired a significant minority investment.
German media have suggested that this amounts to around 10 per cent, but the veracity of those reports cannot be confirmed.
Given that neither Red Bull nor any of their people are registered as having significant control over Leeds on Companies House, the UK’s business registrar, we know their investment is les than 25 per cent.
Their intentions at Leeds are even less clear than the scale of their investment.
Red Bull are a marketing brand as much as an energy drinks company and their aims within football to date have been to access new markets where they can promote and sell their products.
But if that was the aim at Leeds, it is not entirely obvious why they would need to take a stake in the club.
Red Bull are paying a record sum for Leeds’ front-of-shirt rights, but they did not need a part-takeover to do that.
Having their name above the door at Leeds will add value, but almost certainly not enough to justify however many million they spent to acquire an equity stake.
Leeds’ multi-club plans
Incidentally, Leeds have now signalled their own multi-club ambitions.
49ers Enterprises, the investment arm of the San Francisco 49ers, have moved Gretar Steinsson from his position as technical director at Leeds to a broader footballing role with the group.
While the 49ers reportedly have no immediate plans to implement a multi-club model akin to Red Bull or Man City’s City Football Group, it does appear that something may be in the pipeline in this direction.
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